Ties That Run Deep
by cobalt-blue
Summary: Friends arrive and get rip roaring drunk.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers and their ilk. I'm just borrowing them for a little fun. (Get back in there and take those clothes off Billy and Jase!) I'll give them back when I'm finished. I promise. No money exchanged hands here.  
  
  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Okay, this story has been percolating in my head for a while. I need a break from doing the yearbook where I teach or I'm going to do some very unpleasant things to some people's names, so I'm dashing off the prologue now. I want to thank a few people beforehand. First is Dagmar who's always an inspiration. Secondly, I want to thank Melee whose fiction was the first PR fanfic I ever read and who is responsible for my seeing Jase/Billy as a couple the most naturally. I also want to thank Jacks, Kitty, and Tanya for letting me bounce ideas off them. Finally, I want to admit up front that I stole the idea of the modified teleporters from Ibonoken and his You Can't Go Home story- which I'm waiting for him to finally finish. **hint hint**  
  
  
  
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"I can't believe this is really happening," Kat said excitedly as she snuggled back against Tommy's chest. The two sat curled on Tommy's sofa watching the awards ceremony on the news. Billy was receiving the Nobel Prize for Physics and several of the former Rangers were gathered at Tommy's to watch the ceremonies on his satellite dish. Most of Billy's old friends had come to Tommy's to watch the ceremonies. Over the past few years, they had drifted apart as they built their own lives and dreams, but this was one of the rare happy events to bring them together as a group.  
  
  
  
"If there's anybody who deserves it, it's Billy," Rocky commented from the rocker. It was a sign just how much the former Red Ranger had matured over the years. Although he still possessed an extremely upbeat personality, he'd calmed and matured into a very responsible young man.  
  
  
  
Tommy said, "I just wish that Trini and Zack could have been here to see this. They would have been so happy to see him finally get the recognition he deserves." The deaths of the former Black and Yellow Rangers had been the last time this group had been together. He felt Kat reach out and touch his hand gently, trying to comfort him. He and Kat had drifted apart not long after the end of the Turbo era of the Rangers, only to reconnect at their memorial. That had been the last time he'd seen Billy, or Jase or Kimberly for that matter. He remembered how he felt just a little shut out as the last members of the original team closed ranks with each other for comfort, seeming to shut everyone else out.  
  
  
  
Later that evening he'd discussed it with Jase, who'd apologized profusely for what had happened, and Tommy began to understand just a little. The original team had been friends since grade school, and Tommy came to realized that what they felt for each other went deeper than anything he and Kimberly had ever shared- although not in the same way. "We sort of need to make sure that we were still here," Jase had told him. "We need to reconnect I guess. We didn't mean to shut you out, Bro. We never meant to do that."  
  
  
  
Tommy assured Jase that he understood, and that he wasn't offended, but was just a little hurt by it. Zack and Trini's death had made most of the former Rangers stop and think about their lives, where they'd been and where they wanted to go. Billy had returned to Earth for good not long afterwards, and according to Adam, he refused to even discuss what had happened between him and Cestria. Now, here they were- all except the man of the hour, and Jase and Kimberly. Nobody had heard from either of them in several months, and Tommy had been unable to make contact to invite them.  
  
  
  
"Is that Jase and Kimberly there in the audience?" Adam asked suddenly.  
  
  
  
Tommy 'paused' the program- digital signal did have its advantages- and zoomed in on the audience. Sure enough, both the original Red and Pink Rangers were on the front row of the audience watching the ceremonies excitedly. It looked like they were holding hands. "No wonder we couldn't get in touch with them. They're out of the country with Billy."  
  
  
  
"Has anyone heard from them lately?" Rocky asked. "For that matter, has anybody heard from Billy lately?"  
  
  
  
Adam smiled and said, "I talked to Billy the day it was announced that he'd won. I called him to congratulate him, and we ended up talking for a couple of hours. He said that he was spending a lot of time with Jase and Kim, sort of catching up on old times and all. According to him, everyone is doing fine." Adam leaned back in his chair and remembered what the two had discussed. Billy had hinted around about there being somebody special in his life, but hadn't come out and told him anything specific, so Adam kept his own counsel where that was concerned.  
  
  
  
"What are Jase and Kimberly up to now?" Rocky asked tossing a chip into the air and catching it in his mouth. Although Rocky may have calmed down, his appetite had not.  
  
  
  
Adam smiled at his oldest friend and said, "Jase just made Detective on the AGPD, and Kim' just started her residency at Angel Grove General." Adam knew that last revelation was going cause a bit of a stir. He so loved being the strong silent type- especially when he could use it to surprise his friends with an occasional bombshell like that.  
  
  
  
"Kim is a doctor?" Kat asked surprised. Then her eyes narrowed to ebony slits, "And you were going to tell us all this when?"  
  
  
  
Adam smiled at her and replied, "I figured now would be a good time." He quickly dodged the pillow she threw at him.  
  
  
  
"Is it my imagination or do Jase and Kim look like they're a couple?" Aisha asked from where she was sitting cross-legged on the floor between Adam and Rocky. Tommy was surprised when he realized that he felt no jealousy toward his former best Bro that he might be with Kimberly now. He'd long since come to grips with his days with the first Pink Ranger. She had been his first love, and like all first loves it had been intense and her leaving him in that letter had been very painful, but what he shared with Kat now was more mature, more lasting, and definitely preferable to the fumbling attempts at a relationship he'd experienced at seventeen. He glanced over to see Kat watching him, he recognized the apprehension in her eyes.  
  
  
  
"Well, well, well. Way to go Jase!" Rocky exclaimed.  
  
  
  
"I don't know, maybe we should say, way to go Kim. Jase is a good catch too," Tommy replied, trying to put Kat at ease. From the smile that spread across her eyes, he knew he'd succeeded.  
  
  
  
"Wonder how they rated an invitation and we didn't," Aisha asked.  
  
  
  
Tommy sighed and looked over at the woman before saying, "If you won a big prize and could only invite two people who would you ask, me and Kat or Adam and Rocky?"  
  
  
  
"That's not fair, Tommy," Rocky said. "Adam, Aisha, and I've been friends since grade school. Even before we were Rangers."  
  
  
  
Tommy smiled, "Exactly, Rocky. Those three have been friends since fourth grade. I think that maybe Zack and Trini's accident hit them harder than any of us really know." He looked around the room, "Besides, who's been in touch with them besides Adam?"  
  
  
  
"You mean outside of getting these from Billy?" Kat held up her wrist to show the teleporters Billy had sent with a note explaining them to all the former Rangers a few weeks ago. He'd explained that they were modified to use the Morphin' Grid when active Rangers weren't- which according to Billy was most of the time. That way everyone could stay in touch a little better. Kat felt just a little ashamed that they hadn't managed to do that, and decided that starting today she would make it a point to do a better job of it.  
  
  
  
Tommy looked down at the one on his wrist and smiled. A very good idea just formed in his head. Flipping the cover back to reveal the small holographic imager he checked the location of the other three teleporters. Good, all three of them are together, and according to the scans coming off their units, they're alone. "I've got such a good idea," he told the others. Smiling he held up his wrist, "The news said this was recorded earlier," he pointed to the paused television. "Why don't we pop in on him and congratulate him ourselves. The scans show that all three of them are together, stationary and alone."  
  
  
  
"Great idea, Tommy!" Rocky agreed with him enthusiastically. Rocky agreeing with him should have been Tommy's first warning.  
  
  
  
"I don't know, Tommy," Adam began. "They may not be expecting us."  
  
  
  
"That's what makes it such a good idea," Rocky said. "This way we can surprise them." That was Tommy's second warning.  
  
  
  
"I'm game if you guys are," Kat chimed in.  
  
  
  
Tommy smiled and showed them the lock he had on the three original Rangers' position. "Okay, let's do it." Five streaks of light disappeared from the room.  
  
  
  
As they materialized in the darkened room, each of the former Rangers yelled their own congratulatory felicitation.  
  
  
  
"Surprise!"  
  
  
  
"Way to go Billy!"  
  
  
  
"Bet you didn't expect to see us!"  
  
  
  
"Congratulations!"  
  
  
  
"Uh. oh! We forgot the time difference between California and Switzerland." Kat said. Then her voice changed to a completely different tone. "Oh my!" The sudden blaze of the overhead lights revealed the sleepy- eyed and very startled forms of Kim, Jason, and Billy in the king-sized bed. The three managed to pull the covers up and around them quickly, but not before revealing to anyone with eyes to see that more than just sleeping had been going on earlier in the evening. 


	2. Remebering Old Friends: Jason's POV 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
First, I need to apologize to Iboneken and Brian Lieske. YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN was written by Brian not Ib. Secondly, Ib is female not a male. I'm sorry guys, and as a way of making amends I promise not to steal any more inspiration from you two for the rest of this story. (But that is as far as it goes.)  
  
Secondly, I want to explain that this story is an exercise for me in stretching my wings as a writer. I usually write in third person limited, so for this story I'm trying switching between third person omniscient and first person past tense. I hope you'll bear with me for any slips.  
  
Also, special thanks to Dagmar for pointing out the little correction I had Adam make in the first part of this story.  
  
Danny  
  
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Kim screamed, and turned a deep shade of red, "Tommy! What are you guys doing here?"  
  
Billy blinked at the light. Reaching across Jase, he put on his glasses before blushing deeply. "Although the sentiment is most appreciated guys, don't you think perhaps calling before you transported via the Morphin' Grid might have been a wise course of action."  
  
Tommy simply stepped back, his brain unable to process the scene in front of him. The warmth of Kat's hand in his helped to bring him back from the swirling emotions that were threatening to break over him like some huge tidal wave. Surprise, jealousy, anger, surprise, incomprehension, a touch of lust, surprise, anger, jealousy, surprise, all hit him one after another as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing.  
  
Jase sat up in bed, pulled the covers tightly over Kim and said, "Guys do you think you could give us a minute." He indicated the door that led to the rest of the hotel suite. "Give us a chance to get dressed and we'll talk."  
  
Nodding in compliance, the former Zeo and Turbo Rangers left the room as Aisha and Kat traded high fives behind Tommy's back with a quick wink to Kimberly. Aisha simply mouthed, "Way to go Kim!"  
  
Closing the door behind his startled friends, Adam turned and faced the shell-shocked Tommy, "I knew if Rocky agreed with you, it had to be a bad idea," he chided his former leader.  
  
Kat watched her boyfriend with some concern. He was not taking what he'd seen very well. She couldn't blame him for being surprised- it's not every day that you walk in on your former girlfriend in bed with TWO of your closest friends. Of course, at the same time Kat realized that if they had taken the time to extend their friends the simple courtesy of a phone call this situation could have been avoided. She'd just never expected Billy or Jase either one to be involved in a threesome, much less with each other. "That is going to be some explanation," Tommy said looking back at the door like he wanted to go through it and throttle someone.  
  
"Uh, Earth to Tommy," Aisha snapped her fingers at Tommy, put her hands on her hips and said. "Since when do they owe us any kind of explanation of who they sleep with? They're all over twenty-one, and the last time I checked, none of them were married."  
  
Tommy stepped back as if physically assaulted by the woman's words. "It's not that Ai- It's just that I never expected. . ." he looked back at the door with a torn expression on his face. Finally, he shrugged and said, "I just don't like seeing my friend used that way."  
  
"How do you know anyone was being used?" Aisha asked. "It looked to me like they were all very happy to be there."  
  
"I just can't imagine Kim. . .," he looked over at Kat guiltily as he realized that his girlfriend might not take his current state of mind too well. Finally, he threw caution to the wind and said, "I mean, I could never get past second base with Kim and then to find her with TWO guys."  
  
Rocky raised an eyebrow at Tommy's comment about how far he and Kim had experimented sexually. He'd always been under the impression that their relationship had gone further than that. In a rare expression of the insight people never expected from him he said, "You said it yourself, Tom: Those three have been friends forever." Glancing over at Adam and Aisha he said, "Don't take this wrong, but all things considered I can see how it could happen."  
  
As every head in the room turned to face the former Red Ranger, the door to the bedroom opened and Kim entered followed by Jason and a very flushed Billy. "Uh guys, I think maybe we need to talk," Kim said.  
  
"I think that might be a good idea," Tommy began.  
  
"You don't owe us any explanations," Adam broke in before Tommy could continue. "We owe you an apology for barging in unannounced." He gave Tommy a hard look, "To be honest, we didn't factor in the time difference between Switzerland and Angel Grove."  
  
"Sweden," Billy corrected.  
  
"Huh?" Adam asked.  
  
"We're in Sweden, not Switzerland."  
  
"Oh, I always get those Nordic "S" countries confused," Adam tried to put some humor into the situation. He had to admit to himself that if anyone else had been involved it would be humorous, but since it was he and his friends, he didn't find it quite so funny. Adam added, "Like I said, you don't owe us any explanations." He shot Tommy a look that screamed, "behave."  
  
Billy chuckled and sat down on the sofa under the watchful eye of Tommy. For the first time the former White Ranger let his eyes take in the rest of the suite. It was actually a small apartment, sans a kitchen. The furnishings were elegant and he realized that they didn't just put up Nobel Prize winners in the Holiday Inn down the street. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when Jase and Kim sat on either side of him- their body language screaming that this was not the first time they'd all been together.  
  
Kim looked up into the chocolate brown eyes of her former boyfriend. The man whose heart she'd broken with a letter of which she was not proud. She sighed and said, "Yes we do. We're all friends, and we need to clear the air."  
  
"When?" Tommy managed to finally get out through the tightness that was forming in his throat. The emotions that were threatening to wash over him were confusing the hell out of him. He knew he loved Kat. He knew that things had been over between him and Kimberly a long time ago. He'd buried those ghosts before he ever let himself reconnect so intimately with Kat. Somehow though, this whole scene was churning up intense feelings of betrayal.  
  
"About three years ago," Jase told Tommy. "I guess it started right after Zack and Trini's memorial." He looked at Tommy and said, "It's a long story Bro," looking over at Kim and Billy he waited for them to nod, "and I think each of us is going to want to tell our own parts. Why don't you sit down and we'll talk."  
  
Reluctantly, Tommy sat down across from the man with whom he'd once entrusted his life- a man he thought he knew up until five minutes ago. Now he wasn't so sure, but he was going to hear Jase out at least. Looking over at Kim, and hoping that the emotions he felt deep down weren't showing, he sat across from the trio and said, "Okay, shoot."  
  
Jase leaned back, taking Billy's hand in his own, as the former Blue Ranger held Kim's hand. Looking over at his best friend, he didn't like what he saw in Tommy's eyes. Taking a deep breath, he began:  
  
  
  
JASON:  
  
I wouldn't admit it at the time, but my heart was breaking. How could they be gone? They fought giant monsters from outer space. They piloted some of the most advanced weaponry this planet had ever seen. How could they die in something so stupid as a car wreck? It wasn't fair, it wasn't right!  
  
I kept looking over at their photos at the memorial. Zack, teaching his hip-hop-do class; God, I remembered how the kids loved him, and hoped- I still hope- that I'm half as good with them as he was. He was one of my oldest friends, we'd been best buds since third grade. I remembered all those nights when he, Billy and I would sit on the ledge outside Billy's window and talk about all the things so important to an eleven year old: could Spider-man beat Batman; is there life on other planets- well we all found out the answer to that one-; karate; just how fast could the Battlestar Galactica go. I missed his exuberance, his unfailing desire to make sure that everyone was having a good time. Hell, I even missed that period when he drove us crazy with while he was constantly in pursuit of the elusive Angela.  
  
Next to his photo, they had a picture of Trini from the volleyball team, all smiles and sweetness. Never had God put such a beautiful person on Earth and I was pissed as hell at him for taking her away from us too soon. I couldn't help but remember those long talks we used to have in Geneva about what we wanted to do with our lives. I just hope that she got to do some of them before the end. I missed how she always had a kind word for everyone around her, how she always saw the brightest and best in people. Mostly I missed her just being in my life.  
  
I stood there at the back of the hall, not sure I could even go in. I mean, if I went in, it would mean that I had accepted they were gone, and at that point, as stupid as it might sound, I wasn't ready to do that. I had never felt so alone in my life. Not even when I was cornered by Goldar in the Dark Dimension and being powerless had left me feeling so naked and exposed. This was something I couldn't fight, something I couldn't change. Now if I went into that hall it would be admitting that they were gone, and that I couldn't do anything to change that. I found myself missing them already- and some part of me registered that I was missing Kim and Billy too.  
  
Everything we'd been through since fourth grade came back to haunt me. I hated myself for letting the most important people in my life slip away. And, I have to admit, I was starting to feel some of the guilt over what had happened with Billy and the Gold Powers. At that time, as far as I knew, he too was out of my life forever. I looked around and saw all of you guys, but for some reason I felt alone, set adrift in the world.  
  
Then, I felt a hand on my arm. Looking down I followed it back to Kim standing there with tears in her eyes. Some part of me just reached out, and before I knew it we were holding each other and crying- right there in front of God and everybody. She felt so good in my arms, not a romantic good, just the pure goodness and love that I felt for her as one of my closest friends. I remember pulling back from her and smiling. She said, "I don't know if I'm going to make it, Jase."  
  
I remember trying to smile back at her when I admitted, "Me either, but maybe we can help each other." I put an arm around her and we took our seats half way down the hall.  
  
As we sat, she asked me, "Have you seen Billy yet?"  
  
I quickly looked around to make sure that nobody could hear before shaking my head and replying, "Last I heard he's off planet."  
  
Kim smiled and patted my arm, "He's back. You two need to talk." She turned and looked forward, "I think we all need to talk."  
  
I just nodded to her and turned my mind back to the ceremony. I still don't remember anything anybody else said during it. All I can remember is the pain and the emptiness I felt in my life with them gone.  
  
Leaving the building after the service, I remember a familiar voice calling to me, "Jase, Kim." Turning in the direction of the voice, I saw Billy standing there looking wounded and alone. I couldn't stand it. I just ran over to him and pulled him into the biggest hug I could muster. I think I realized then that having him in my arms felt just as right as what I felt with Kim. At the time though, I thought it was simply the relief at having him back in my life. I realized that while he was gone there was a hole there, and that I had simply gotten used to the pain it caused.  
  
It wasn't long before we both were pulling Kim into the hug with us, and something inside me just clicked. I felt more complete then, than I had since before we went to the Teen Peace Conference- which by the way was the biggest joke in history, but more about that later. I'm sure we were a sight, standing there holding each other, taking comfort in each other's presence in ways that I don't think anybody could ever really understand. Finally, I said, "We need to talk, Bro."  
  
Billy nodded and wiped away the tears I could see forming in his eyes. "I predict that that would be a very astute course of action." He was using Billy-speak again- sorry man but you do that some times when you get nervous- so I knew he was trying to hide behind that dictionary he calls a vocabulary. You can't know someone for most of your life, be as close as the five of us were, without learning little things about them like that. Billy's vocabulary starts sounding like a question on the SAT when he's nervous. Kim plays with her hair when she's excited. Zack couldn't stand for two minutes to pass without someone saying something- so he would usually crack a bad joke. Trini, well Trini had this way about her with little kids that made the most intense scolding sound like it hurt her more than it did them- which it did.  
  
I remember you watching us, Tommy. I could see the hurt in your eyes, Bro and I wanted to do something about it, but right then I didn't have the emotional energy to do it. I know I wanted to say something to you, but I just couldn't pull myself away from Kim and Billy. It was as if I was afraid that if I let them go, then I'd never see them again. I know it doesn't make sense, I know it sounds like I was crazy- which at that point in my life it is very possible that I was just a little bit. I think we all needed to make sure that we were actually there- to reassure ourselves that the hole that just opened up in our lives wasn't going to widen. I know we talked about it later, Tom and I'm sorry for shutting you guys out. I know you loved them too, but right then, we needed each other, and we needed to be alone- to heal- to bury our ghosts.  
  
"I suggest that we retire to some place more secluded and inform each other about what's been going on in our lives," Billy said. "My dad is out of town, if you don't mind pizza, we can go there for dinner and to catch up."  
  
I smiled at Kim and Billy, and said, "Why don't we go to my house instead. There's a lamb roasting in the oven, and I've got a bottle of very good wine. We can catch up with each other and remember our friends without worrying about who hears what secrets."  
  
"That sounds good, Jase," Kim said taking each of us by the arm and heading toward the parking lot.  
  
"What about your parents?" Billy asked.  
  
"They moved to Arizona two years ago- Dad's allergies finally got the best of him," I told him. "I've got the house now."  
  
"Fine, I'll meet you there," Billy told us as he unlocked the door to the Radbug. Man it was good to see that old jalopy again. He must have seen me staring at it because he said, "It was the only vehicle I could obtain access to on such a tight time schedule."  
  
I just shook my head and smiled, "It's just good to see it, that's all." I looked over at Kim and asked, "Do you need a ride?"  
  
She held up a set of keys and smiled, "I've got a rental. I'll meet you there."  
  
  
  
An hour later, we were sitting in my living room just basking in each other's presence. I'd managed to dig out several old photo albums I had stashed away upstairs. For the longest time we sat and looked at photos from when we were growing up. There was one of us in third grade; when we won the sandcastle-building contest at Blue Springs Elementary. The girls designed it, Billy fixed the structural flaws and Zack and I hauled sand and helped build it. Overall, it was one of our best joint projects, and marked the first time we beat Bulk and Skull at something.  
  
"Jason," Billy looked up from the picture album, his eyes burning with a pain and seriousness that sent shivers down my soul. "I'm sorry." It wasn't the usual "I'm sorry" that guys usually use when what they really mean is "that sucks, I didn't have anything to do with it, and really don't have to apologize but I feel for you man". It was something different, like he was apologizing for hurting me, or something.  
  
"Whatever for man?" I asked.  
  
"I wasn't there when the Gold Powers started hurting you. I wasn't there when you needed me." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was the man who gave up his Powers so Aisha could take them. He was the same man who then stayed on as tech support for the team when he should have been at MIT changing the world. This was the guy whose chance at the Gold Powers I'd snatched away. HE was apologizing to ME for not giving more.  
  
"Bro," I told him, "don't go there. You don't have anything to apologize for. You were sick, and then you got a shot at something you'd always wanted. There is no way I'm going to let you apologize for snatching a little happiness after everything you'd been through."  
  
He shook his head, "No it wasn't like that, Jason. I wasn't grabbing a shot at happiness, I was running away. I was hiding from you, from Tommy, and from the Rangers."  
  
"What about the fish-lady?" I asked. I couldn't imagine what Billy had to run from.  
  
Billy just shook his head and said, "It was all a lie. Cestria just agreed to go along with it to help me save face- an act that on Aquitar also gained her a great deal of honor."  
  
"What do you mean save face?" I asked. Billy then told me what really happened on Aquitar. As a matter of fact, I think maybe I should let him tell this part. 


	3. To Be or Not To Be: Billy's POV 1

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Tommy listened to Jase tell his story, wondering when he was going to get the point- the part that would explain why they had teleported in to find him in bed with both Billy and Kim. His emotions were slowly coming back under control, and he took a moment to consider them. He slowly began to realize that he was still just a little jealous of the idea of Kim with anyone but him. Smiling inwardly, he realized he was being unrealistic, and unfair.  
  
"Okay, exactly what did happen on Aquitar?" Kat asked. She had her own curiosity about the former Blue Ranger's reasons for leaving for off planet. She thought things had been pretty going well for him up until he started aging rapidly.  
  
Billy took a deep breath and began:  
  
When I left for Aquitar I was not in the best of conditions, either emotionally or physically. I was dying, and I didn't care, I just wanted it all over. I wanted to stop caring about what happened to you guys. I wanted to stop caring that I wasn't a ranger any more, and I wanted to stop caring that I was alone most of the time.  
  
You may not realize it, but I was pretty much shut out - regulated to support staff- after Tanya took the yellow crystal. I wasn't a Ranger any more, so that made me a liability to the team. If things got rough, I'd just be in the way, and I didn't want that to happen, so I just sort of faded into the background. I knew it had to be done, but that didn't make it any easier seeing you guys and knowing that the only way I could help was fix up your 'Zords after you were done. After a while, it seemed that nobody even noticed me except for when you needed a 'Zord fixed or something invented. I know, I know it wasn't like that, but, at times, it felt to me like it was to me.  
  
It got to where I was living in the Command Center, just to have something to do. When I wasn't able to hold the Gold Powers things just got worse. I felt alone. Trini and Zack were in Geneva, Kim was in Florida, and Jase was hanging out with you guys. On top of everything else, I felt like I was loosing my Big Brother. There were times when I hated your guts, Tommy. Jase and I had been friends since we were kids, and there I was, not able to share Rangering with him as you were. I hated myself for feeling that way, because you'd always been such a good friend to me. After a while, I just started hating life.  
  
When I got sick and realized that I was likely going to die, I was actually glad. At least everything would be over then. Then we came up with the idea of going to Aquitar to find a cure and I couldn't find a reason not to go, so I did.  
  
Recovering wasn't a pleasant experience. I itched all the way to my bones, while the aging process slowed and then reversed itself. I fought with a body that refused to cooperate. Although outside of tumbling, I've never been much of an athlete, I was at least accustomed to being able to control my body to the extent of not fouling my clothing.  
  
Finally, as I began to recover physically, I discovered that I had to make a choice. My body was getting better, but my life back home wasn't. What did I have to go back to? I'd given up my scholarship to MIT to keep things running in the command center. I didn't have a life of my own anymore and all my friends were busy with theirs. Kim was in Florida, Zack and Trini were in Geneva, and the rest of you were saving the world. Hell, I couldn't even talk to my Dad anymore.  
  
Since I was alone, I took the time to decide what I wanted to do after I recovered. Cestria and I became very good friends and we talked a lot. As I learned more about their culture and way of life, I realized that I would never be able to assimilate into their society. Still, we both were interested in each other's world so like I said, we talked about everything from high school and the Rangers to chocolate and bread- it turns out that the Aquitations have no concept of bread or most of the foods we eat. We talked a lot about what had happened with the Rangers, and she helped me come to grips with what I was feeling. By the time I had healed, we'd become very good friends- and no, Rocky not THAT good. Although I was physically ready to come home, I still wasn't emotionally ready. We came up with the plan of telling everybody that I was staying there to be with her while we worked on other alternatives for me back on Earth.  
  
Our talks about the Rangers led to a rather surprising discovery- one that helped me understand and come to grips with my apathy about living and dying. We were talking one day, about you guys. After my describing some of our missions against Rita and Zed, Cestria asked me several questions about each of you and then sat back with a smile. I told her, "You have the countenance of someone who has made a discovery."  
  
"I believe I have, William of Earth." Again, she looked insufferably pleased with herself.  
  
"Is this a discovery you would care to share with me?" I asked.  
  
"I think that your feelings for two of your friends go beyond just the camaraderie of being a Ranger," she told me with a smile. You have no idea how unnerving it is to see a being descended from their world's version of a shark smile.  
  
"Of course I care about my friends," I told her. "Some of us have been friends since grade school."  
  
She smiled again and said, "Yes, but while you describe all of your friends with the detail of one born in the sciences, the words you use to describe two of them are born from your heart."  
  
I must have sat there for a long time thinking about what she was intimating- trying to make sure that I hadn't mistranslated the somatic elements of her speech. Finally, I asked, "Are you saying that I love Kim and Jase?" As soon as the words were out, I realized that they were true. I knew which of you guys she was talking about without her even saying anything.  
  
"This is something I cannot help you with Billy of Earth. Matters of mating and life bonding are different here than they are on your world. Delphine tells me that you do not take more than one mate at a time, nor are same gender relationships very well accepted," she replied, the regret in her voice obvious. She then swam off leaving me to think about what she'd said.  
  
I must have sat there for hours thinking, because the sun was disappearing in the Western waters when I finally swam away. I slowly came to realize that I did love Kim and Jase, and that that was part of my dilemma. I loved both of them so much that I couldn't bear to bring myself to choose between them. Therefore, instead of being honest with myself, and them, I'd chosen exile on a world so alien that I had to undergo several surgical procedures just to be able to live there. I came to realize that I'd loved both of them since before we'd become Rangers. Then, I was too timid and scared to admit to myself- afterwards I was just plain scared.  
  
It was then that I decided I needed to go home. I was going to try to sort out the mess I'd made of my life. I had several issues I needed to deal with, not the least of which was what to do with myself now that I was no longer a Ranger. What would I do? What did I want out of my life? Where to live? Actually, that was never really a question, Angel Grove was my home, and I wanted to go home. I also knew that I wanted my degree.  
  
One of the primary things I had to decide on was whether to even let the Rangers know I had returned to Earth, especially when all that time passed and nobody even called to see how I was doing. I decided in the end, just to lay low and get my life back to as close to normal as I could. Finally, I hacked into UCLA's computer and got myself admitted. That first year completely drained my savings, but by the second, I was able to obtain several scholarships. I also decided to keep to myself, not letting anybody know I was back yet, and just concentrate on my studies full time. I was on a fast track to my doctorate when Zack and Trini were killed.  
  
That was something I couldn't ignore, or pretend not to care. This was beyond painful. Although I had separated myself from my friends, I still cared. I still missed the camaraderie we all shared, especially the first five of us. It was then that I realized that I'd been alone long enough. It was time to either do something about Jase and Kim, or to let them go.  
  
I made myself pick up the phone and call Kim in Florida. I just barely caught her too. After catching up for a while, she asked me why I had stayed away so long. I told her about being ill, about trying to get my life straightened out after Rangering, and about life on Aquitar. I talked about everything except what I wanted to tell her- what I needed to tell her. Finally, we made arrangements to have dinner the night before the service.  
  
I don't remember much from the time I hung up to when we met at Nikimotos' for dinner the following evening. I suspect that I managed to annoy several of my friends in at the university graduate lab. I'm told I became something of the caricature of the absent-minded professor.  
  
We met that night and continued our earlier conversations. However, when it comes to matters of the heart, Kim is the genius. She knew that there was more to my mindless prattle than I was willing to disclose. Finally, she came out and asked me, "Billy, what's wrong? I mean besides the obvious."  
  
I remember shrugging and trying to obfuscate, "Nothing. I guess I'm just glad to have someone here that I can talk to."  
  
"What about Jase, and Tommy and the rest of the Rangers? Don't you talk to them?"  
  
I shook my head and told her, "No. I haven't seen any of them since before I left for Aquitar. You're to first I've spoken to since then."  
  
I remember the look on her face. I knew I was in for a tongue- lashing, and I was right. She started right in with, "Billy! Don't hide from us. We won't bite. We care about you."  
  
I don't know- maybe it was grief I was feeling about Zack and Trini- maybe it had all just stayed bottled up for too long- but I lashed out at her before she could continue, "Like hell you do! Did anybody call to see how I was doing on Aquitar? Did anybody ever ask how I was doing after I became a glorified grease-monkey for a disembodied head and a child-like robot? Did anybody think to check up on me after you went on with your lives? No! I spent five years of my life either fighting Rita and Zed as the Blue Ranger, or trying to stay ahead of the repair schedule on the 'zords without so much as even a thank you. Hell, sometimes I think Rocky and Tommy were in some kind of sick contest on who could get their 'zord the most damaged without totally destroying it, and all I ever got out of either one of them was "can you get it fixed soon?" Don't tell me that people care about me, because if they had, they would have at least checked up on me!" I was really having what Trini used to call a pity-party for myself. I told her, "Did anybody ever think that I might have something to contribute beyond the latest weapon to take out the big oogadey-boogedy? Did anybody care if I cared about them- that I had to stop watching the battles on the Viewing Globe, because I was afraid one of them wasn't going to come back? Did anybody ever stop to think that maybe I couldn't go on if one specific person didn't come back?" I think I started to cry then.  
  
Kim just sat there in shock. I know she couldn't have had anything to say about my tirade. It wasn't exactly a coherent. Finally, she said, "Billy? I'm sorry we didn't call. I'm sorry -I- didn't call, and I'm sorry -I- hadn't noticed if you cared about anyone in particular." She reached across the table and took my hand in hers and asked, "Do you want to tell me who it is?"  
  
Discretion suddenly became the better part of valor, and I shook my head, "No, it's not important." I think she started to figure some of it out about then- not all of it, but some of it.  
  
"It's important to you," she said, "but I won't push." She leaned back in her chair and gave me one of those looks that tells you she's up to something. "I do think you need to talk to Jason, though," she said. "You guys have been friends too long to let something like that come between you, especially now." I nodded and told her that I agreed, and promised to talk to Jase.  
  
"And that's my part of the story up to where we met at Jase's house," Billy said as leaned back against the sofa, still holding both Jase's and Kim's hands. Tommy had already figured out that this was going to be a story told in parts- each of his friends telling a little of it at a time.  
  
"That still doesn't explain how you three ended up as a couple. . . ," Aisha said not feeling quite comfortable with the last word. She asked, ". . . , uh what do you call this sort of a situation?"  
  
All three looked at each other, "Uh., we really haven't given that any thought. We just know this much. It's not a fling, it's not experimentation, and it's permanent." Kim said. Then she quickly added, "And don't take this the wrong way, but it's closed. We aren't looking to add anyone else." She looked at the other two men who quickly nodded in agreement. The intensity of what they were feeling was obvious to anyone who cared to look for it.  
  
"So, you're going to live with Billy and Jason as husband, and wife, and husband?" Tommy asked incredulously. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of Billy and Kim together, much less Jase and Billy. For some reason, he never thought of the young genius as anything but someone in the background. Of course, he realized that that attitude was part of the problem that had forced him to leave the planet.  
  
"Something like that," Kim said, sticking her jaw out, the gleam in her eye daring anyone to say anything about the idea.  
  
Adam shrugged, and asked, "Kim, are you happy with this?"  
  
She smiled at him, "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."  
  
"Are you happy with this Jase?" he asked the former Gold Ranger.  
  
"Very," Jase replied.  
  
"And you Billy?"  
  
"Indubitably," the green-eyed man replied.  
  
"Then who am I to criticize you," Adam told them. "Happiness is too rare in this world to throw away just because someone else might have a problem with it." He shook his head and added, "Besides, this planet doesn't know what you've done for it- the least you deserve is a little patience." He grinned broadly and said, "Although I am interested in the rest of the story, not for any justification- I just want to know how three of my friends finally figured out a way to make an unconventional situation work." He found himself accepting this arrangement, a lot easier than he would have ever thought he might. To him, it just seemed right- sort of, as if he, Rocky, and Aisha were to become intimate. Adam blushed at the ideas that thought brought to mind.  
  
Rocky listened to what Adam had say and realized, that although what Kim, Jase, and Billy shared went against everything his strict Catholic upbringing taught him, he felt the same as Adam. He figured he was growing up a little- of course being exposed to space aliens and magic- two other things of which the Church disapproved- he'd had his horizons broadened just a little more than most people. Finally, he said, "Billy I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for not being more considerate with my 'zord, and expecting you to do all the work on it." He blushed, "Tommy and I did have a bet going on, but it wasn't to see who could do the most damage to our 'zords without having them destroyed." He glanced over to their former leader and revealed something that up until today, had only been between the two of them. "We should have thought about what our little game was costing other people."  
  
"What kind of bet?" Jason asked evenly. He'd noticed that when he'd rejoined the team, that nobody maintained his or her own 'zords anymore. Everybody seemed to think that since Billy wasn't going into battle, that he'd be free to do all the maintenance. He'd caught himself thinking the same thing once or twice himself, and had always felt guilty about not doing as much as he knew he could do on the Pyramidus.  
  
"We were trying to see who could get the closest to whatever we were fighting without getting hit. Loser had to buy the winner a smoothie at Ernie's," Tommy replied guiltily, as he shrugged, "I guess we didn't stop to think that the loser was adding more work for Billy." He turned to the former Blue Ranger and sighed, "I'm sorry, Bro, our game was making extra work for you. We should have thought of that. You must have really hated us for that. No wonder you left."  
  
"I'm sorry too," Aisha added as she looked guiltily over at Kat. "We knew that Kim had helped maintain her own 'zords, but I guess we figured that since you were there, that it was your job. We didn't think that we should have been helping you. I guess the Power kind of went to our heads."  
  
Kat just nodded, "You know I'm sorry too, Bill," the blonde told him. She and Billy had discussed this issue not long before he'd become ill. She had meant to come to the others with it, but he got sick before she could, and then had left for Aquitar. She hadn't seen the need to make everyone else feel any worse than they already did. She had wondered, however if it had had anything to do with his deciding to stay off planet. Billy nodded to her, and said nothing so she quickly added, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I want to hear how you managed end up with two guys, while I'm stuck with just one." She grinned and hoped her teasing hadn't stepped over the line with Tommy.  
  
"Okay," Kim said. "I guess it's my turn." 


	4. Kim's POV

*************AUTHOR'S NOTE**********************  


* * *

  
Okay guys, the first person thing wasn't working, so I'm going to try and switch to third person omniscient. Hope this works better. I do appreciate all the feedback, and maybe with a little practice I'll be able to try something else in first person later. In the meantime- on to Kim's story. All of the Power Rangers, their gear and belong to Saban. I'm just borrowing them. Noah, David, Brenda, Sharon and the other characters are mine, all mine. If you are interested in reading more about them, email me and I'll send you the stuff. I can't post it because it's currently at a publisher, and I could lose some money if I did.  


* * *

  
Kim fought back the tears as she closed the suitcase. "Are you sure you don't want one of us to go with you, Kim?" Noah asked from where he was sitting cross-legged on her bed.  
  
She shook her head without turning to face her friend. She knew it was stupid trying to hide that she was upset. Noah could always tell when something was bothering her, and it usually didn't take him long to figure out what it was, but then again, that was in the nature of what he was. "No, this is something I'm going to have to do on my own." Dabbing her eyes, she turned and smiled weakly at him, "Besides, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea."  
  
Noah flashed one of his wry smiles that somehow managed to impart volumes. "You don't have to explain anything to anyone you don't want to, Kim. You are going back to bury two of your closest friends, people who were more like a family to you than your own. I can understand how that makes you feel." She could hear a deep sadness in his voice.  
  
"Yeah, but I've still got that rather cowardly letter I sent to Tommy to live down," she told him. "You know the one where I lied and said I'd met someone else. I don't want him to think that you're the person I met. "  
  
Noah gestured to himself. She found herself marveling at just how young he looked. When she'd first met him, he had to show her his driver's license to prove that he was as old as he said. Here it was four years later, and he still looked like a thirteen or fourteen year old instead of twenty-two, "Yeah, like the Lord of the Skies is really going to be threatened by someone like me. Come on, I couldn't intimidate a pussycat." She tried to hide the quick double-take, but he only smiled and said, "Kim, I've known since I met you." He shook his head, "You know me, and you know what I am. Hiding something like that from me is impossible."  
  
"Do the others know?" she asked of his rather unconventional family.  
  
Noah just smiled, "Only David. It's somewhat hard to hide things from the other half of my soul. Neither of us has mentioned it to the others, though. It's not their business, nor ours." He leaned back against the headboard, "That's one of the advantages of being what I am. Nobody can lie to me, but I don't have to tell everything I know either. You'd be surprised how many secrets I've got locked away."  
  
She shook her head, "I don't want to know, Kitten." She came over, sat down on the bed next to him, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I just want you to know how much you and your family have meant to me these past few years. I think if it hadn't been for you guys, I might have packed up and headed back home with my tail tucked between my legs before now."  
  
"What's this? I'm gone five minutes and come back and find my study partner in bed with my boyfriend?" David's voice came from the door.  
  
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Dave. Somehow I get the feeling that I don't have quite the plumbing to interest him," she grinned and threw a pillow at the tall Adonis-like man standing in the door. Whereas Noah was small, barely clearing five foot and a hundred pounds, his boyfriend was well over six foot and built like Austin St. John on a good day. "I was just telling him how much I appreciate you guys. You've made my life here in Florida not only bearable, but pleasant."  
  
He bowed slightly to her and replied, "It's been a two-way street, Kim. You've been really special to us too- not just to me and Noah, but all of us." He came over and took her hand, "I just don't want you to forget us when you move back out to the West Coast." He bent down and kissed her lightly on the forehead, "And in case I haven't told you yet, I'm sorry for your loss." She suddenly felt the wave of sympathy and affection pour from both these men whom she'd become so close to over the past few years.  
  
"Are you going to see _them_, when you're there?" Noah asked. Kimberly knew of whom he was speaking.   
  
She shrugged, "I'm sure Jason will be there. I'm not sure about Billy, he's ... ," she started to say "away", but then realized that both these men knew her secret, and had kept it for the past few years, "...off-planet the last I heard."  
  
Noah shrugged, "Maybe, he'll come back. I know if something like this were to happen to one of ours, I'd come back."  
  
She grinned at him, "You'd never leave them in the first place Noah. I know the rest of your family too well. If you tried going off into the night like Billy did, Brendan or Sharon would hunt you down and turn anyone that got in their way into cat chow." She smiled over at David, "That is, if this one would even think about letting you go."   
  
David chuckled and pulled her off the bed, "Seriously Kim, you need to talk to them. At least clear the air." He shrugged, "If we can find a way to make it work," he put an arm around his lover, "I'm sure you guys can work something out."  
  
She laughed, "Somehow I get the feeling that neither of them even see me that way. I've always been Jase's little sister, and Billy's big one." She snorted, "To tell you the truth, I don't think that either one of them even see me as a woman."  
  
"Then they're fools," Noah told her. "Because trust me, my little crane, you're all woman, and if they can't see that, then I may just have to make David take me out there so I can bust their heads."  
  
She grinned at him, "I thought you said you were non-threatening?" she teased the small man.  
  
He laughed, "I said I wasn't intimidating. I didn't say I wasn't dangerous, Power Ranger or not."  
  
"Noah," David warned. "You know that's not our realm of responsibility."  
  
Noah just shook his head, "I don't know. It seems to me that they're using spells. That puts them in the realm of either magery or sorcery, and that is definitely our realm."  
  
"Noah, stay out of it. Giant monsters from space aren't what we're about."  
  
Kim laughed, and was surprised at herself for being able to do it. Leave it to these two to find a way to make her last memories of Florida, pleasant. "I could just see turning you guys loose in the Power Chamber. Poor Alpha would blow a circuit with you two and four nosy cats poking their whiskers into everything. That is if Billy didn't start trying to run all kinds of tests on you, to find out what makes you tick." She immediately regretted the comment, remembering Noah's irrational fear of needles.  
  
He just smiled at her and patted her hand before saying, "It's okay, Kim." He slid off the bed, and headed toward the bedroom door. "We'd better get out of here and let you get some sleep. You've got a long flight tomorrow, and we have to be here to meet the movers."  
  
She got up and followed her two friends to the door thinking about how unlike anything she'd expected her life in Florida had been. She'd come here expecting to continue to train for the Pan Global Games, not end up embroiled in what her friends called the politics of the unnaturals. Not that she'd really had that much to do with it, outside of being someone for them to talk to when things got too weird. It did seem like that she spent most of her free time with some member of their family. "I really appreciate you guys and everything you've done for me."  
  
David turned and smiled at her. "Kim, all we did was what any friend would do. You've been there for us; this is the least we can do." Once again, he wrapped his long arms around her in a brotherly hug. "Just don't make us have to come out there to remind you that we still exist. Remember, two-thirds of my family is part cat, and cats hate to be ignored."  
  
"Will do," she smiled at the taller man as she pulled his lover into another embrace. "I'll miss you too, Runt. Don't let this overgrown beach-bum get you into too much trouble."  
  
"I won't," he told her as they headed out the door.  
  
Closing the door behind them, she leaned against it, once again feeling the loss of her friends. Forcing back the wave of despair and loss, she turned out the lights and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. As she slipped into the bed, preparing for her long journey tomorrow, the phone rang. Picking up the receiver she said, "Kim Hart."  
  
"Kim, it's me Billy. I apologize if I've awakened you, but this was the only time I knew I could catch you at home." She felt her heart race suddenly at the sound of a long-missed voice.  
  
"Billy!," she replied happy to hear from an old friend. "Last I heard, you weren't on Earth."  
  
"I've returned," was all he said. Maybe it was all the time she'd spent around Noah and David, or maybe it was something else in his voice, but Kim got the feeling that there was more to it than that.  
  
"So you have," she said carefully.  
  
"Have you heard about Trini and Zack?" he asked carefully.  
  
Her brief sense of elation suddenly crashed again, "I heard, her Trini's mom called me. I'm catching the first flight for Angel Grove out of Miami tomorrow. My flight arrives in Angel Grove at two p.m."  
  
"Do you need a ride?" he asked.  
  
"No, a friend has arranged for a rental for me," she told him. She could almost see him thinking, and then reminded herself that she wasn't Noah.   
  
Finally, he said, "Would you like to go to dinner tomorrow night, then?"  
  
"That would be nice," she replied excitedly. "It'll give us a chance to catch up on each other." She hoped that what she was feeling didn't' show too much in the sound of her voice. She definitely didn't want to scare off her shy friend.  
  
"Are you still training?" he asked.  
  
"Not professionally," she told him. "I still train and practice, but mainly to stay in shape. Medical school keeps me pretty busy."  
  
"Medical school? You're in medical School?" Billy asked.  
  
"I start my residency in two years," she replied.  
  
"I'm impressed. What made you decide to enter that particular field of study?" There was genuine affection in his voice.  
  
"I guess I just felt like it was time to do something useful with my life. I mean, I can't be a gymnast forever, and this way at least maybe I can get a break on the costs when I need surgery on my knees from all the back flips," she joked. She didn't tell him that her nocturnal activities with Noah and his family had led to an interest in medicine- especially for medicine as Sharon referred to it, "off the beaten path". The clientele wasn't very large, but they usually paid extremely well for someone who understood their particular needs, and was willing to be discrete.  
  
"I can understand that concept. That's why I came home and started to work on my degree. It was time I did something other than repair giant combat vehicles, and design weapons for adolescents in spandex." There was a bitterness to Billy's tone that warned her that her old friend was still hurting over something.  
  
Holding her peace until she could talk to him face to face, Kimberly filed the information in the back of her mind and probed in a different direction, "How long have you been back? Where are you in school? Have you spoken to any of the others?"  
  
Billy told her, "I returned approximately two years ago. I'm currently engaged in my post-graduate studies, and estimate that should all go as planned, I'll have my doctorate by the end of next year." He was starting to degenerate into techno-babble. The difference now was that she understood him. "My current position is chief graduate assistant at the UCAG High Energy Research and Development Project."  
  
"Good for you, Billy," she told him. "But have you spoken with any of the others?"  
  
"Not for a while," he told her reluctantly. She got the feeling that "a while" was longer than he wanted to let her know.  
  
"I can't wait to see you tomorrow, Billy," she told him.   
  
"I too find myself anticipating the event." He hesitated a moment before continuing, "However, it is well past midnight at your location, and you have an early flight tomorrow therefore, I will say good night and hope you sleep well."  
  
She smiled to herself, "Good night Billy. Sweet dreams." Hanging up, Kimberly slipped off into surprisingly pleasant dreams.  
  
  
Kim was tired and excited at the same time. She grinned as she slid into the booth at the Japanese restaurant Billy had named. Her flight had been delayed in Reno, and she'd barely made it to Angel Grove in time to get a quick shower before coming here to meet him. Looking around she caught herself identifying all the exits to the dining room, and noting where everybody else in the room was. She realized that she'd picked up some unusual habits in Miami- habits that her old friends might not understand.   
  
Looking back toward the front door, she saw Billy being escorted toward her table by the maitre' de. He'd changed since she'd last seen him. He was leaner, and his hair had darkened from its normal honey yellow to something more like dishwater blond. As obviously genuine as the broad grin he was wearing at the sight of her was, it couldn't hide the hag-ridden look in his eyes. "Billy!" she screamed, and realized she sounded like a schoolgirl again. Before he could reply or pull away, she leapt up from her seat and literally threw herself around him.   
  
She felt him hesitantly begin to hug her back before finally pulling her into an embrace that surprised her with its intensity. After long moments of just holding each other there in the empty dining room they separated and he held her at arms length before saying, "The feeling is most assuredly mutual, Kim." For just a moment, something flashed across his eyes, and she thought he was going to say something.  
  
Finally, she pulled him into the booth across from her and said, "It's so good to see you."  
  
"You already said that," he smiled at her.  
  
"So I did," she felt herself blush. "Where are you staying?"  
  
"At my dad's house. Normally, I live in the dorm- at least when I'm not sleeping in the lab. Since he's out of town for a few weeks, he asked me to house-sit for him."  
  
"You, living in a dorm?" she asked incredulously.  
  
His answer was interrupted by the arrival of the waiter. After the man had taken their orders, Billy looked over at her and said, "I'm a legitimate scientist now. I don't have to keep a lab in the garage anymore."  
  
"You always were a legitimate scientist, Billy. One of the best," she told him. "You've got more brainpower than most people on the planet combined."  
  
He blushed under her compliment before replying, "Thank you." After a deep sigh, he leaned back in his seat and asked, "So tell me about Florida." She couldn't help but think that he still thought of others first.  
  
"I just finished two years of Medical School at Miami University. I'm transferring to U.C. Angel Grove for the rest of my college career. I just missed home too much."  
  
"That's great!" he said as his eyes lit up with genuine joy.   
  
"I'm glad at least one person thinks it's a good idea," she said, remembering the letter she sent Tommy those long years ago.  
  
"I'm positive that you'll receive nothing but positive greetings and felicitations from all our old teammates over the news, Kim," again, she heard a hesitation in his voice. After a second he asked, "Can I ask you a question, Kim?"  
  
She smiled at him, knowing what was coming. Steeling herself mentally she said, "Sure."  
  
"Why did you send Tommy that letter," he asked.  
  
Before she could reply, their drinks arrived. She waited until the server had left before looking up from her own drink and saying, "Because after I got to Florida, I realized that I had been in love with the idea of being in love, but not with Tommy." She shrugged, "I did a lot of soul searching down there, and came to realize that although Tommy would always be special to me, I wasn't in love with him the way he needed me to be. That wasn't fair to him, and it wasn't fair to me either. I should have handled it differently, I know that now, but I was young, I was stupid, and I was afraid, so I sent him the letter. I figured it would be easier for him if he were mad at me for finding someone new, than if I told him the truth."  
  
Billy nodded and smiled, "I have always suspected it was something like that." Then looking down he almost muttered, "So? Is there anyone in your life now?"  
  
Kim smiled and shook her head, "Uh huh, you don't get off that easy. First you have to tell me about what's been going on with you and the others."  
  
He looked up sheepishly at her, "I haven't spoken to any of the others."  
  
She told him, "Billy! Don't hide from us. We won't bite. We care about you."  
  


* * *

  
"That's when he blew up at me," Kim smiled and patted Billy's hand in hers. Glancing over at Tommy she said, "I hope you can eventually forgive me."  
  
Tommy shrugged, hiding the brief stab of pain the revelation brought to him. He said quickly, "It's in the past. I'm over it. You're over it. Forget it."  
  
"Wait a minute?" Rocky asked. "Those people you were telling us about in Florida. Exactly what were they?"   
  
Kim smiled wondering how much of her friend's secrets she should reveal. Finally, realizing that some of them might go hunting if she didn't give them at least a little information she said, "They call themselves unnaturals, and they sort of do the same thing we used to, only in the realm of the supernatural." She smiled, "and that's all I really feel comfortable saying about it."  
  
"You mean witches, and wizards and such?" Rocky asked incredulously.  
  
Kim nodded, "And vampires, and werewolves, and definitely werecats, and the occasional ghost."  
  
"That's a little hard to believe," Rocky said.  
  
"And so is a Power Coin and Giant Robots, and a gold armored winged ape," Jason said. "Not to mention a spell to turn the Green Ranger evil. I've met these friends, and Kim's on the up and up." He grinned over at Billy, "Even if they do make Bill nervous."  
  
"How did they find out about you being the Pink Ranger, a spell?" Adam asked.  
  
She smiled, "No, Noah's a telepath, one of the first to be born on Earth in four hundred years. Nevertheless, this isn't about them, it's about how the three of us got together."  
  
  
Jason smiled, "I think it's my turn again."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Love and Laughter

  


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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry this is so late, but to borrow a line from Batman, "My life's sort of... complicated."  
Hope you guys enjoy this, since it's nearly finished. Let me know what you think. This is a story of how they got together, and really doesn't have a second plot.  
  
Danny  
  
Tommy watched as his best bro stood walked across the room and stared out the window at the snow-covered city below. He could almost feel his friend reach deep inside to put into words feelings that ran as deep as what he himself felt for Kat. After a long sigh, he turned and scanned the room, his gaze momentarily resting on each of his friends before finally stopping on Kim and then Billy. Tommy was suddenly rocked by the intensity of the emotion- no it was more than just emotion, it was tangible, it was love- that was radiating between the three of them. For just a moment, he felt a pang jealousy toward his friend, but crushed it savagely. Far be it for him to deny Jason his happiness.  
  
Jason then smiled and said, "I guess I was in shock. Billy, my Little Bro, the guy who'd been one of my closest friends, had just told me that he loved me, and it wasn't in a brotherly sense. Of course, he was also telling me that he loved Kimberly too, but for some reason it took a little longer for that part to sink in. It's the jock in me I guess, I wasn't sure how to take it. On some level, I guess I was relieved. Something just seemed to click inside me and it seemed right." Jason blushed slightly, "I wasn't exactly a newcomer to the idea of a male lover. Even if it was pretty useless for anything else, my time in Geneva at least managed to broaden my horizons somewhat."  
  
"Jason?" Rocky asked. "You mean you slept with guys other than Billy before this started?"  
  
Jason nodded and chuckled, "I guess that's one of the advantages of growing up in Southern California. You get a little more used to certain ideas a little easier. When I got to Geneva, I had the opportunity to explore that side of my sexuality, so I took it." He gave Rocky a hard look, "I'm not going to name any names, mind you, but I at least gave it a chance and learned a few things about myself in the process. Physically, I enjoyed it as much as anything I'd ever done with a girl." He smiled at Tommy and continued, "Let's face it, I was a jock, and at the risk of sounding stuck on myself, I realize that I'm not exactly hard on the eyes, so I've been sexually active since before I was a Ranger."  
  
"Is there a point to this, Jason?" Aisha asked. "I mean besides your bragging about sleeping around since before you were fifteen?"  
  
"I wasn't bragging Aisha," Jason replied, and then thought better of it. "It may have seemed that way, and I'm sorry about that. I guess I was just trying to let you know where I was coming from. What I was trying to say is that I wasn't as shocked as some people might think at the idea of Billy being in love with me." Then he shook his head again as he realized he was digging a deeper hole for himself, "Damn, that didn't come out right either. What I mean is that…"  
  
"We know what you mean, Jason," Rocky warned.  
  
Jason laughed, "No, I don't think you do. I mean that I guess somewhere deep down I was recognizing that I wasn't uncomfortable with the idea of me returning Billy's love."  
  
"What about Kimberly?" Kat asked. She'd been listening to the exchange carefully, and was somewhat amused by Jason's attempts at an explanation. Although she had only known Jase for a short time while he was the Gold Ranger, she'd grown rather fond of him. She's also heard enough talk among the other girls at AGHS to know that he had a reputation as a considerate lover and very discrete. She'd thought it rather ironic that girls were discussing a boy who put out. "How did she react to the news that Billy was in love with both of you?"  
  


* * *

  
Jason gently put the photo album on the table and locked eyes with Billy who was looking back and forth between he and Kim nervously. He could tell the former Blue Ranger was about to bolt, and something inside him warned Jason that if Billy did that, then they both would live to regret it. He reached out and put a gentle hand on Billy's and glanced over to Kim, whose eyes were sparkling with amusement over something. If it had been anybody else, Jason was afraid that she was about to laugh in Billy's face, but he knew deep down that Kim would never do that to a friend.   
  
Billy must have seen it too, because he swallowed the obvious lump in his throat and quickly said, "I don't expect anything from either of you. I just wanted to clear the air and let you know how I felt, so I can clear my own conscience. To explain why I left when I did," from the look on his face, Jason could tell that Billy was holding his emotions under strict control as he continued, "and to apologize for not being there when you needed me to be."  
  
Without thinking, Jason pulled Billy into a hug, "And like I told you Bro, you don't have anything to apologize for." For long moments, he simple held Billy gently stroking his hair. He could feel the former Blue Ranger fighting for emotional control. He also realized that he too was beginning to have to fight for control. Holding Billy like this was opening up feelings he'd long kept buried for his Little Bro as being too threatening to their friendship to express.   
  
Looking to the other side of the coffee table he saw Kim fighting to control what appeared to be a silent hysterical laughing fit as tears streamed down her face. Shooting her a questioning look he silently mouthed, "What?"  
  
Kim took a deep breath, got up and joined them on the couch. She reached out and touched both men on the shoulder and gently separated them. Leaning in she gently kissed Billy on the lips. It wasn't the chaste kiss of a sister to her brother, but one that was filled with all sorts of possibilities and promises. It was a kiss that even Jason felt down to his toes.   
  
Before Jason could say anything, she pulled back and then leaned in and kissed him just as passionately. If watching her kiss Billy that way sent shivers to his toes, being on the receiving end of such a kiss went directly to his soul. Suddenly he felt complete- whole- and loved like he'd never felt in his life. There was still a hole in his heart where Trini and Zack used to be, but he felt that same hole echoed in Billy and Kim, and that helped to ease the pain of their loss.   
  
At some point- exactly when Jason wasn't sure- he pulled back from Kim, and pulled Billy to him kissing him the same way. Again, Jason felt something vibrate through his soul, and with some surprise realized that Billy was a very good kisser. After long moments, he was pulled away from Billy and once again had Kim in his arms, but this time, she pulled Billy into the embrace, all the time grinning hysterically. It was a so surreal to Jason, that he for a moment he was afraid he was dreaming- albeit it was one of the most erotic dreams of his life.  
  
"Would you mind explaining what you find so amusing?" Billy finally asked of her.  
  
She smiled and simultaneously ran a hand down each of their faces before saying, "For the past year or so, a very good friend of mine has been trying to convince me to tell you two how I feel about you." She told him giggling. "I just had no idea that you guys might feel the same way."   
  
"Huh?" the normally erudite Billy asked.  
  
She leaned back and spoke softly, "When I got to Florida I did a lot of soul searching. I realized that I was hiding from my feelings about you two behind Tommy. If I let myself get caught up in the feeling of being in love, then I didn't have to deal with having to choose between one of you two."  
  
"You mean you dated Tommy because you were in love with me and Billy?" Jason asked. "Kimberly, that doesn't make any sense at all."  
  
"Like Billy staying on Aquitar and pretending it was to stay with Cestria," she said, before suddenly became extremely interested in the weave of the area rug under the coffee table. Finally, she said in a barely audible whisper, "I hope to God I'm not wrong about this." Looking up, she fixed Jason with a steely gaze, "Or you running off to Geneva to a Peace Conference you had no interest in what-so-ever."  
  
Jason took a minute and thought about his time in Geneva. He realized that she was right. Geneva had held nothing for him, and he knew it before he ever went. He recognized it for what it was now, an attempt to hide from his feelings. The three of them had always been close, closer than any three friends had a right to be. It was as if each of them had chosen to pull away from the other two to avoid hurting one of them by having to choose. Suddenly, Jason felt a huge weight lifted from his soul, he felt free for the first time- free to love- and free in the knowledge that he could love back. Most of all, he felt free to understand that he didn't have to deny his love for fear of hurting one of them.  
  
The effect must have shown on his face because Billy said, "I don't think you're mistaken Kim. I think he understands." Billy reached out and turned Jason to face him, "I love you Jason Scott. I've loved you since I first met you." Then he turned and faced Kim, "And I love you too Kim. I always have, and I always will."  
  
Jason was starting to come back down to Earth. He understood what Billy was saying, but began to realize that it was not going to go over very well with society in general. "Bill, I understand. I feel the same way," turning to look at Kimberly he added, "about both of you. But let's face it: society doesn't really offer us very many options here."  
  
"Society be damned," Kim said with an intensity that surprised Jason. "It can work. I know it can because I've seen it work."  
  
"It works on Triforia," Billy said, "you should know that Jase."  
  
Jason shook his head, "It works on Triforia because they're an alien species that split into three separate beings. Here, we've got several strikes against us, not the least of which is our parent's."  
  
"I don't think my dad will have a problem with this Jason. He's known how I feel about you two for years, Kimberly's mom is in Paris, and you already said both of yours live in Arizona. Parent's aren't really an issue yet." He smiled, "Besides, we don't have to advertise our situation."  
  
Kimberly took on a somber demeanor, "Jason, do you want this? Really think about it, Jason. Don't just answer with whatever you think we might want to hear, but what do YOU want?"  
  
Jason started to answer quickly, but because she'd asked him to, he stopped and thought about it. Did he really want this? Did he want to give life to the feelings that had suddenly surfaced in his soul? Was he willing to face the consequences for grabbing his happiness? He'd spent his high school career facing alien monsters from outer space. He'd faced death and worse in defense of the planet, and could never tell anyone else about it. Hell, the least he could do is have the family he really wanted. The more he thought about it, the more the answer that came to him was a resounding, YES! Finally, he said, "Yes, I want this. I want this more than I ever wanted anything in the world. I want this even more than I wanted the Gold Powers." Then as if he was afraid that he'd said too much, he looked at Billy and added, "Uh…, sorry Bro."  
  
"I understand, Jason," Billy told him. "I felt the same way about the Gold Powers, but I wouldn't change what happened. You were a better Ranger than I."  
  
"I still feel guilty," Jason said. "There should have been a sixth Zeo Crystal. You shouldn't have been shut out."  
  
"That's in the past, Jason," Billy told him. "I'm over it."  
  
"Good, you're both over it and neither of you have to bring it up anymore," Kim told them. "Now we can get on with deciding on how we're going to handle this."  
  


* * *

  
"Wait a minute?" Rocky said. "You mean, you all just sort of fell into this?"  
  
"Not really Rocky," Kimberly said. "It was something that we'd all been feeling for a long time. We all just tried to hide it in different ways. Billy left the planet, Jason went to Geneva, and I went to Florida. We probably would have never gotten together if it hadn't been for Trini and Zack dying like they did." She smiled at the former Red Ranger, "What it took was for us to simply admit what had always been there." She gave Tommy a guilty look.  
  
Kat too glanced over at her boyfriend and wondered what he was feeling. In an attempt to head off what she thought might be an unpleasant situation she asked, "So you were never really in love with Tommy?"  
  
Kim smiled realizing what Kat was doing. Tommy had always had problem with low self-esteem, and this kind of revelation could play havoc with his sense of self-worth. She smiled and to give Tommy and out, said, "What I felt for Tommy was genuine, but it was also immature, and I'm sure the same was true for Tommy. It was a first love, puppy love. Very intense, very distracting, but not anything was ever meant to be permanent. For me, its main purpose was to hide from myself what I was feeling." She hoped that Tommy wouldn't dwell too much on her using him as a safe alternative to Billy and Jason.  
  
Sensing that the conversation might be getting into overly sensitive areas, Adam asked, "So, how did you guys manage to work this whole situation?"  
  
"Oh that was easy," Kim said. Looking over to where her two lovers were seated she smiled, "All I had to do was twist their arms."  
  



	6. Setting a Date

          AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Okay, folks. I've picked this one up again.  I know where I want to go with it, and I hope you like it.  I've decided to take some time off from my campaign to join the Yosties and decided to torture other characters for a while.  ***wicked evil grin***  I hope you enjoy it.

Danny

          Tommy sat down on the sofa across from Kim, Billy, and Jason.  Shaking his head he looked at all three in disbelief.  This was coming at him too fast.  He had too much to try and absorb, too many questions.  Most of all he was trying to deal with the feelings of what he'd identified as betrayal and couldn't understand why.  "How come you guys never told any of us?"

          Jason smiled at his old friend.  His heart went out to his best bro, the man who he'd hoped one day would be the Godfather of his children.  He understood what was on Tommy's mind, even if he didn't have an answer for him.  "You mean, why didn't _I_ tell _you_?" he stressed the last pronouns.  

          Tommy grinned back at him and shrugged.  He knew that Jason understood.  It had been like that between them since they'd met- since the Rangers had destroyed the Sword of Darkness- since they'd literally saved his soul.  "Yeah."

          Jason shrugged, his on uncertainty showing in his midnight eyes.  It was a valid question, and to be honest, there was time he wanted to shout it to the top of the world.  But there'd also been an underlying questioning of _what would other people think_ at first as well.  Yes, he'd had his share of lovers in the past, but he was never what you would really called promiscuous.  It had taken him a long time to recognize from where those feelings came- from a fear that he might not be able to love both Kim and Billy equally.  Kim had finally sat down with him and Billy and helped him face it in a way he was accustomed- head on.  Of course Tommy didn't have to know all that.  He just needed honesty, "I don't know.  At first, we were simply trying to figure out how to make it work.  I mean after all, it's not exactly," he held up two fingers on each hand to make quotation marks in the air, "normal situation."

          "And later?" Tommy asked. 

          Jason smiled, "Later, it just seemed like it would take too much to explain to everyone."  Billy had once commented that they'd become so accustomed to hiding things from their life when they were Rangers that it had almost become second nature to them.  Jason had jokingly told his lover that they probably wouldn't tell anybody until after their first child was born. That of course had brought up a whole new concept for them to explore.

          "So what?" Adam asked.  "You just drop out of all our lives?  Let us think you've just drifted apart?"  Tommy could detect just a little defensiveness in the former Black Ranger's voice.  He wondered what was eating him.  He seemed to be comfortable with what was going on here, for that matter, so did Rocky and Aisha.

          "You could have called us," Billy said quietly.  "The phones do work both ways you know." There was defensiveness in Billy's voice that made the other Rangers wonder if he'd really ever gotten past what had happened with the trip to Aquitar.  Tommy had always felt guilty that he hadn't tried to contact his old teammate- just to make sure he was all right.  But he always told himself that if they'd been a problem, the Rangers of Aquitar would have contacted them.  

          For some reason the self-directed anger he'd felt over that came bubbling to surface. "And you!" Tommy turned on the former Blue Ranger with a little more vehemence than he intended, "You go and avoid the rest of us, nursing your hurts like a wolf licking its wounds.  I thought we were friends.  Friends tell each other when they're hurting.  When I was down you went out of your way to make it better.  How dare you not give me the chance to return the favor?"

          Billy locked eyes with Tommy, and for just a second and the strength he saw reflected there made Tommy wonder how he could ever have thought of Billy as a simply tech support.  "I dared because it's not in my nature to discuss my feelings."  His voice dropped to an even tone, "especially to a friend when it concerns my feelings for his best friend and his former girlfriend."  He shrugged, "Besides, you could have asked."

          "Uh guys," Rocky interjected.  "I don't think yelling at each other is going to get us much of anywhere except for kicked out of the hotel."

          "As strange as the concept might seem," Billy smiled to let the former Red Ninjetti Ranger know he was teasing, "Rocky is correct."  He looked over at Tommy and smiled, "Is your curiosity sated to the point that any further inquiries might be postponed until we've all had an entire somnambulant period of rest?"

          "Huhn?" Aisha asked in confusion.

          "Can it wait until we've all had a good night's sleep?" Adam translated.  Tommy couldn't help but be reminded of the days that Trini would do that for Billy.  Tommy was surprised to find that although he still missed the vibrant young woman in his life, the pain of hers and Zack's passing had faded to a dull ache that he wore everyday like an old sweater.

          "Oh," Tommy said.  He shrugged and smiled, remembering that it was much later in the evening for Kim, Jase, and Billy than for the rest of them.  He smiled and said, "Sure."

          "When?" Tommy was surprised to hear Billy ask.  It seemed that the former Blue Ranger wanted to clear the air as much as he himself did.

          "When what ?" Rocky asked with a grin that showed much to Tommy's surprise that he too understood exactly what Billy was asking.  He just wanted to make Billy say it.  

          "When do you want to gather and discuss this?"  Billy grinned, "Now that it is out in the open, I find myself wanting to disclose everything and attempt to renew old acquaintances."  Billy knew that all three of them had at one time expressed distress over the distance that had wedged itself between the former Rangers.  He was hoping that such a gathering might go a long way in alleviating his lovers' discomfort.  He was also honest enough with himself to admit to his own discomfort as well.

          "How about next Friday evening?" Jason suggested. "I know all three of us will be off."  It was sometimes difficult for all three of them to get a day off at the same time.  Since Jason had gotten his gold shield at AGPD, he found he was spending more and more time on the job.  Kimberly just about lived at the hospital these days, and Billy- well Billy was just Billy.  He could get lost in his lab for days on end if he or Kim didn't go dig him out of it.

          "You're always off, Bro," Tommy teased.  It was something Jason used to tease Tommy about and it felt good to be able to turn the tables on his old friend.  Jason chuckled in response as Tommy continued.  "Next Friday sounds good to me.  I know Kat and I have it off."  He turned to Rocky, Adam and Aisha and smiled, "What about you three?  Can Hollywood spare its two most demanded stuntmen?" He grinned at Aisha, "I know those kindergarteners aren't going to need you on Friday night."

          Adam glanced at Rocky and then turned back to Tommy and said, "I think we can get free."  Tommy got the feeling he was missing something there.

          "And I think I can manage, Tommy," Aisha told him.

          Tommy smiled and replied, "Good.  Now as to where…?"

          Kim smiled and interjected, "How about our place then, around eight o'clock?"   
          "You still at your old house Jason?"  Adam asked.

          Jason shook his head, "No," smiling he shook his head, "It just seemed too weird all three of us in the same house where I grew up."  Grinning he said, "We bought that old place over on Larson Avenue."

          "The big Victorian one with all the gables and widow's walks?" Tommy asked. Jason nodded. 

          "We'll be there." Kat said.

          Kim smiled, "Good."

          "In the meantime," Adam looked at his watch realizing it was a useless gesture- he didn't even know what time zone he was in, "we'd probably better be heading out of here and let you guys get some sleep."  The other Rangers nodded in agreement and in matter of moments, they'd all said their goodbyes and disappeared in flashes of white light.

          Jason turned to his lovers and smiled, "Well that was a surprise."

          Kim blushed and pushed her brown hair from her eyes, "I know."  She got a wistful look on her face, "Still, it went better than I expected."

          "It was inevitable that they would eventually ascertain the true nature of our situation," Billy added getting up from the sofa to go and stand by the window.  He could almost see Jason and Kim exchange looks behind him.

          Moments later as he looked out over the Snow-covered streets below he felt a strong pair of arms wrap lovingly around him.  Jason spoke quietly into the air, "For a minute there, I thought you and Tommy were going to go at each other with fists."

          Billy shrugged under Jason's embrace, "I don't think either of us would allow the situation to deteriorate to that point.  At least not now, back when we were both Rangers, and less mature, possibly."

          "You mean young and stupid," Kimberly teased as she snuggled in next to him.  

          "That's what I said," he told her with a smile.

          "What was all that going on between you two?"  Kim asked.  

          Billy shrugged, "Tommy and I have always had sort of a strange relationship."

          "This is about Kim and me isn't?"  Jason asked.

          "I don't understand," Kim said as she turned and looked carefully at both of the men in her life- men with whom she planned to spend the rest of that life.  "What do Jase and I have to do with what's going on between you and Tommy?"

          "Nothing really," Billy said.

          "Nothing wouldn't set off that kind of tension, Billy," she accused.  She always could read when something was bothering him.

          Jason sighed and gently but firmly turned Billy to face him.  "This is not a competition, Bill.  Even if it was, you'd have won a long time ago."

          "Now I really don't understand," Kim said.

          "I never said it was a competition," Billy told Jason defensively.  "I'm not competing."

          "You won't admit it, but you are," Jason told him.  This was an old conversation they'd had before.  Jason understood that even though Billy and Tommy had long been friends, there was still an sense of competition on Billy's end when it came to Jason and Kim and their pasts with Tommy.

          "Would someone please explain what you two are talking about?" Kim asked in frustration.

          Billy pulled her close and smiled. "Jason thinks I'm competing with Tommy over the two of you."

          "Why would you be competing with Tommy?" She asked then after a second of thought added in revelation, "Because I used to be his girlfriend, and he and Jason were so close?  Billy nodded.  "Well are you?"

          "I don't think so," Billy told her.  "Logically, I shouldn't be."  He grinned at her and said, "However, where the two of you are concerned, my logic is uncertain."  

          Kim stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed him on the nose before turning to Jason and smiling.  "It must be pretty serious if he's back to quoting Star Trek."

          Jason smiled and pulled Billy to him tighter, "He's being silly."

          Kim kissed Jason and laughed as she turned toward the bedroom. "Still, it's kind of cute."  Striding across the room she didn't look back until she reached the door.  "Are you two going to stand there all night talking about it, or are we going to bed."  She winked at Jason, "And we can show him just how silly that idea really is."

~*~

          Kat gave Tommy a look that spoke volumes.  They'd returned to Tommy's house, and the former Ranger leader was unusually quiet. "You want to talk about it?"

          "Talk about what?" Tommy asked as sat heavily into the overstuffed chair in front of the fireplace, kicked his shoes off and propped his feet up on an ottoman.  

          "What ever it is about what we saw and heard tonight that has you upset."  Kat smiled at him.  Since they'd reconnected, she'd found herself able to read Tommy much more easily.  They were more mature now, more stable and that made it a little easier. They weren't taking every little comment or misstatement personally anymore.

          Tommy drummed his fingers on the arms of the chairs, and then hit them with his fist.  "I'm not upset."

          "Right," Kat said smiling at him.  "Nothing bothered you about tonight."

          "Nothing," Tommy reiterated.  "I'm fine."

          "Then why did you almost bite Billy's head off?"

          "I didn't almost bite Billy's head off."

          "No, but the tone of your voice was pretty hurt tonight."

          Tommy shook his head and looked around.  "I don't know.  Maybe it was because I was hurt."

          "Because of Kimberly?" Kat asked neutrally.

          Even in his distraught state, Tommy managed to pick up the warning signals in her voice.  He stood and walked over to her.  "No, not because of Kimberly."  He shook his head, realizing that he owed Kat honesty.  "Maybe a little because of her."  He took his fiancé by the shoulder and smiled at her, "Mostly it's just shock."  He shook his head, "I just never thought of Jase or Kimberly together."

          Kat smiled at him, "Or with Billy?"

          Tommy smiled and chuckled, "To be honest with you, I never thought of Billy with anybody."

          Kat raised an eyebrow at her future husband, "Tommy, that's not fair."

          Tommy shrugged and turned away.  "I guess I really did come to see him as tech support after a while, and that wasn't fair to him.   Like I said, he went a out of his way to make me feel better after Kim's letter."

          "Tommy," Kat said quietly.

          Sensing something serious in her voice, Tommy turned to face her.  "Tommy, if you're having second thoughts…,"  she said.  "…, maybe if you need some time."  Her tear bright eyes spoke volumes.

          Tommy shook his head, "No!"  He pulled her to him.  "I'm just confused.  I didn't expect to find Jason in bed with Kim AND Billy."

          "Why is that bothering you so much?" Kat asked.

          Tommy shrugged, "I don't know.  I never thought of Jason in that way.  I never thought he'd go for someone like Billy, or that Kim would."

          "What's wrong with Billy?" Kat asked.

          "Nothing!" Tommy said a little too quickly.  Then as if realizing how he was sounding he shrugged, "I don't know.  He's just not exactly action-oriented."

          "And you think that makes Jason less of a man?"

          "No.  I just…  I don't know."

          "I'm not sure you've got your head together about all this Tommy," Kat said.

          He frowned at her. "You may be right."  Looking her directly in the eye, he added, "But I do know one thing that I've got my head on straight about."

          "What's that?" Kat asked.

          "That I love you- that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.  All this

          other stuff is really just incidental.  If my friends are happy living like that, then who am I to question them?"

          Kat smiled and told him, "Shut up and kiss me."

~*~

          It was one of those beautiful California nights where the crisp air just seemed to magnify the Milky Way above in all its glory.  Shadea looked up at the sign and smiled: 

**ANGEL****GROVE**

**Population 1,232,765 **

**Home of the Power Rangers.**

Home of the Rangers indeed, everyone knew that the newest Ranger team was now based out of Blue Bay Harbor now.  Still, this city is the home of the first Ranger team and it had one unique resource that most of its citizens didn't know about: Kimberly Hart.  Getting back into the car, she pulled onto the road and headed toward the city, her quarry waiting.  

          The Directive had been trying to find a weakness in the First Pride's armor for almost ten years now.  So far, they'd proven to be too strong, too tightly knit, to bring down.  Shadea, however had found the chink in their armor- their friend Kimberly Hart.  All Shadea had to do was target their little doctor friend and that should bring them out of the woodwork. The best part of the plan was that Doctor Hart wasn't an unnatural, she could be captured easily and manipulated even more easily.  There would be no rescue of her hostage now.  All she had to do was wait for the wolf packs to arrive.


	7. Issue 7: Full Moon Productions

          Shadea walked among the pack, it was a motley group of lupines and looked like the Directive was scraping the bottom of barrel.  She'd heard that Leger's attack on the Directive about ten years ago had seriously damaged the breeding stock in the kennels.  Now she was convinced.  If this was the best she had to work with then she knew she had better stay on her toes.

          She wasn't a First Huntress and knew that she didn't have all the skills she would really need to take on the First Pride, but she knew enough about what she was doing that she could at least force them out of hiding.  If she could make them angry enough, make them make mistakes she could bring them down.  It was dangerous, but it could work.  She intended to be a First Huntress and bringing down the First Pride would be more than enough to earn her that title.

          She walked up to the pack leader, a short, scraggly-looking man in his mid thirties named Rob Buckhorn.  He was wearing jeans and an Air Force sweatshirt that was stretched tight around the spreading middle-aged paunch he was carrying.  His dark eyes and black hair looked oily and his goatee was in need of a trim.  Shadea could make out the bulge of a paperback in his front pocket.

 There was a foul odor coming from him that seemed to be one part rotted flesh, one part human waste, and one part something she couldn't identify.  She realized it was coming from his breath and suddenly understood what it was- he'd taken to eating his kills.  She was smelling the mixture of decaying human flesh and his own gastric juices.  He grinned and she could see his teeth were yellowed and crooked.  "Who are we going after?" the man asked.

          "A young medical intern," Shadea told him in her heavily accented English.  She pulled out a photo of Ms. Hart and showed it to them. "Her name is Doctor Kimberly Hart, and she lives with two of her friends over on Larson Street."

          "Whatcha' interested in 'er for?" another pack member asked.  

          Shadea locked eyes with the man and could feel the tension rise between them. This was her first test- a test of will- a test of who would be the Alpha here.  She could almost see the other wolves around her begin to shift, but she knew if she broke eye contact she'd lose the battle of wills.  She felt the hot fetid breath of one of the others- probably Buckhorn or the tall leggy girl at his side- on the back of her neck.  Without flinching, without breaking eye contact, she viciously kicked backward, rotating her heel over to get the maximum effect from the blow.  A satisfying howl of pain- definitely the girl- came from behind her as the eyes of the half shifted werewolf in front of her suddenly grew large and looked away.

          The tension was suddenly broken as the wolves slowly shifted back to their human form.  She'd established her place as Alpha of this pack.  Not that there was ever really any doubt.  The Hunters and Huntresses were bred to be as strong and fast as any lupine- literally from their own stock.  She could easily toss one around like a rag doll, but every now and again they had to be reminded of that.

          Smiling, the challenge having been made and answered, she turned back to the business at hand.  "My interest in her comes from her relationship with the First Pride.  She's their friend, she's training to be a doctor to assist the unnaturals.  If we capture our little Dr. Hart, then the First Pride will come to her rescue."

          "Yeah, and hang our hides out to dry," Buckhorn replied.

          "Not if we keep them off balance," she said.  We have to unnerve them so much that they make mistakes- that they split up.  Then we pick them off one by one."

          Buckhorn nodded and raised an eyebrow.  "It could work," he said through his yellowing teeth.  "If we're careful."  He leaned back and scratched his beard. 

          Shadea smiled at him, "If it doesn't then we'll all be dead and it won't matter."

          "So when do we attack?" Buckhorn asked.

          "Tonight," Shadea smiled.  "The good doctor and her friends are having a dinner party.  We're going to crash it."

          "We leaving anybody behind?" Buckhorn answered with a strange look of anticipation in his eyes.

          Shadea smiled, "Just one or two.  After all, we DO want to make sure that the First Pride finds out we have their friend."  She grinned up the tall young woman standing behind Buckhorn.  "You can eat the rest."

~*~

          "So," Kim looked across the table at her friends and asked, "what else do you want to know?"   The past week had been a whirlwind of activity for her and her husbands.  They'd returned from Europe to a big celebration at Billy's research firm, and then dinner with Billy's dad.  Then of course there were the preparations for tonight's dinner.  Jason had almost driven them both mad with his incessant plans.  On more than one occasion she caught herself smiling at his infectious enthusiasm over the past week.

          The others looked around the table rather sheepish, as if they realized that she, Billy and Jason were opening up an aspect of their lives that none of the other had volunteered to open.  Finally, Adam cleared his throat and shrugged, "Just what you guys have been up to for the past couple of years." 

          Rocky nodded and added, "Yeah, I can't believe you've all been living here in Angel Grove and haven't been in touch."

          "It's a big city, Rocky," Jason said.  "It's easy to get caught up in your job, your family," he turned and looked at Billy and her, and Kim could see the devotion in his eyes, "and as Billy said, you could have called us."

          Rocky shook his head, "Well, you see, Adam and I haven't been spending that much time in Angel Grove lately."  He looked over at his business partner and smiled.  "Los Angeles has kept us pretty busy with our new stunt firm."

          Jason smiled.  He remembered reading something about them landing a big contract for Clint Eastwood's next movie.  It was a major coup for them.  "I can imagine."

          "So," Kat persisted, "What've you guys been up to?"

          Kim leaned back in her chair and smiled, "Well, let's see, I just started my Residency at Angel Grove General."  She shook her head.  "You would not believe the number of hours I'm putting in right now."  She winked over at Billy and added, "Almost as many as our Nobel Prize Laureate does at the lab."

          "Speaking of the lab," Adam asked turning to Billy, "Exactly what is it that you do?"

          Billy chuckled and replied, "I do high energy research on fusion reactions.  We've just had a major-break through that should totally revolutionize the power delivery systems for the entire world."

          "Like we used in the 'Zords?" Adam asked. Billy nodded, and Adam continued,   "No wonder you're doing so well. You've had lots of hands on practice."

          Billy chuckled and blushed slightly.  "I know.  I've been taking a lot of what I learned working in the Command Center and have been applying it to my research."

          "Isn't that using your powers for personal gain?" Tommy asked carefully.

          "What powers?" Jason suddenly interjected.  

          "I mean using your time with the Rangers for personal gain…," Tommy began.

          Jason cut him off, "How's it different from you and I using the skills we honed fighting putties and Goldar, and all the other things Rita, Zedd, and Mondo kept throwing at us in our jobs- you in the dojo and me on the job.  Remember, it was Billy who modified the communicators, improving on Zordon's technology.  He was smart before ever he picked up a power coin."

          Tommy shrugged, realizing that his friends were right.  It still seemed just a little like cheating, but Tommy knew better than to express that right now. Instead, he said, "I guess it's okay," 

          "Why thank you for your approval Tommy," Billy said with just a tone of sarcasm.  

          Tommy shot Billy a hard look, then realizing just how what he said could be taken, he shrugged and said, "Sorry Bro, that did sound a little conceited didn't it." 

          "Just a little," Kimberly said shooting Billy a _be nice_ look.

          "What about you, Jase?" Adam asked trying to steer the conversation toward something more neutral. "What have you been up to?"

          Jason smiled and leaned back.  "Mostly work, either here," he indicated the house, "or at the station."  His smile grew broader, "I made detective last month and am still getting used to my new schedule."

          "Like father, like son," Tommy said with genuine affection.  Tommy had always gotten on well with Jason's dad.  They had a lot in common, and even though Tommy had had a juvenile record when he came to Angel Grove, the older Scott had taken to him almost immediately.  "Bet he's proud."

          Jason beamed at his friend, "You can say that again.  He called me to congratulate me before I could call and tell him the good news.  His old buddies in personnel called him as soon as they got the news.  He knew before I did."

          Everyone at the table laughed.  They all knew how much Detective Frank Scott had been pleased when his son decided to follow in his footsteps as a police officer.  Slowly the conversation wound down to small individual exchanges at the table.  

          Rocky leaned back in his chair and smiled, "Kim, that was one of the best meals I've ever eaten."

          Every eye shot to Rocky.  The other Rangers knew that to be high praise indeed considering how many meals Rocky had put away in his day.  Kim just smiled, "Thank you, but don't tell me; tell Jason.  He cooked it."

          "Where did you learn to cook like that?" Adam asked.

          Jason grinned, "My mom.  She kept telling me when we were kids that if I went off to college with Billy one of us would have to know how to cook."  He grinned over at his husband, "And we all know what happens when we turn Bill loose in the kitchen."  That brought a round of laughter from the other Rangers. Billy's cooking skills or lack thereof were legendary.   He smiled at Tommy and asked, "So, how's the dojo doing?"

          Tommy chuckled, "Really well. It really started to take off just before we all went to the moon with Andros and has been growing ever since."  That was a mission that had brought all the Red Rangers except Rocky into one mission against the last remnants of the Machine Empire.  Rocky hadn't been able to go because there was only one Morphin' Power Coin, and Jason had held it.  Andros said that the scientist he was working with hadn't been able to separate the Morphin' Ranger power from the Ninjetti Power since they'd been contained in the same coin.

          "Good," Jason said. "I like to see my friends get ahead."  

          Tommy remembered an old joke he and Jason used to toss around in the locker room but decided not to push it, especially considering his present relationships.  He smiled and said, "So, when you coming down to check us out?"

          "Who says I haven't already?" Jason asked with a smile.

          Tommy started to reply but was interrupted when the front door suddenly crashed inward.  What came bursting through the front door was something out of Toby Hooper's worst nightmares.  They were tall and powerfully built, covered from head to toe with what looked like mangy fur.  Ears set back against the top of their heads made it clear that they meant business.  Their lupine mouths filled with rows of yellowish teeth, and the long claws that terminated their powerfully built arms gave testament to the fact that they were capable of carrying out that business.

          With not a small amount of pride in his friends, Tommy noted that none of the Ranger's screamed.  Instead as one they shoved back their chairs and stood facing the danger head on.  Their reactions must have startled the werewolves- for they could be nothing else- because they stopped dead in their tracks.  Tommy guessed that since the Rangers didn't react like prey, the wolves had to change their tactics.

          A tall raven-haired woman dressed in jeans and sweatshirt came striding through the door behind the pack of werewolves.  In her hand she was carrying a long wickedly curved scimitar.  "Good evening folks.  I hate to drop in unannounced, but we find ourselves in need of Dr. Hart."  She smiled and looked at the table where they were having dinner, "Good, we didn't miss dinner, especially since most of you are ON the menu."

          Tommy looked back at his friends and then at the woman. "I don't know who you are, but you just made a major mistake."  He grinned and winked at Jason, "Let's take these back to the pound!"

          With the ease of long practice, the former Rangers sprang into action, surprising the werewolves.  "Hyah!" Adam yelled as he sprang over a chair to land in front of one of the wolves who was charging.  As the great beast swung at his head, he dropped into a front split and reverse punched the creature dead in the groin. He was rewarded with a howl of pain as the creature doubled over in pain and nausea; then he brought his fists together on either side of its head, and watched it crumple to the floor. Twisting his body until he was flat on his back, he kicked his feet up and out as he kipped up and looked around.

          Rocky followed his best friend's lead.  Despite Kim's protesting look, he rolled sideways across the dinner table, hit the floor running and launched himself feet-first at a large female werewolf who was trying to sneak up behind Aisha.  "Hey! There's only one wolf allowed in this house!" he winked over at the startled former Blue Ranger as he slammed into the wolf's muzzle.  With a yelp of pain, the werewolf tumbled backwards into the sideboard, shattering the heavy oaken wood and scattering silverware everywhere.

          Tommy and Jason looked over at each other and winked.  In one quick fluid motion they two men charged forward toward the woman who was obviously in charge, shouldering werewolves to either side.  One particularly black scraggly werewolf twisted out of Tommy's way, grabbed one of his pack by the back of the mane and slammed him into path of the former Zeo Ranger leader.  Both man and wolf went down in a tangle of arms, legs, claws and tail.  He felt a pain shoot through his upper thigh as one of the were's claws sliced through the muscle there.  He kicked out hard and was rewarded with the sound of snapping bone.

          Jason saw Tommy go down, but already had too much momentum built up to help his old friend.  Instead, he used that momentum to charge past a large female who suddenly stepped out in front of him and tackle the woman who'd made the nice little speech.  With a rush of lost breath the woman collapsed under him.  "I don't know who you think you are, but I don't like people who crash my parties.  I think I'll do some crashing of my own."

          Four large werewolves began to close with Kim, who stepped back into a defensive stance.  Looking to either side she said quietly, "Guys, four on one here!"  Before anyone could reply Billy, Kat, and Aisha stepped between her and the wolves.  

          "Right here, Kim," Billy said.  Turning back toward the wolves he reached deep inside himself for something he knew was sleeping there.  Something his time on Aquitar had helped him come to understand more deeply, something his recent work with Andros told him was there.  His voice dropped into almost a growl as he squared off with the attackers.  "Leave now," he said.

          To everyone's surprise the wolves stopped suddenly and looked at each other, and then over to where their leader was rolling on the ground with Jason.  That distraction was all Kat and Aisha needed.  With dual screams of, "Kyaii!" the two women launched themselves into the air.  Two of the wolves went down as the women landed beside them, high-fived and axe-kicked the downed weres in the chest.  

          The remaining two wolves charged Billy and Kim.  Billy dropped to a crouch, scooped up one of the fallen forks from the shattered sideboard, pivoted on one foot, spun and with a back-fist drove the silver handle into the creature's eye.  With a scream and the hissing sound of burnt flesh the were stumbled backwards clutching at the tines sticking from it's face.  "I don't think Jase's mom ever meant for her good silver to be used as a defensive weapon, but some how I don't think she would be too upset under the circumstances."

          "Hey Billy," Rocky called from where he was still battling the were he'd slammed into the sideboard. "Stop forking around and get to fighting."  

          The remaining wolf charged Kim who set down and waited.  As it swung a great overhand rake at her, she grabbed it by the wrist, pivoted her body and pulled hard.  The wolf went flying past her, head down and back first.  However, to the former Pink Ranger's surprise, it lashed out with one arm and pulled her to it and both went crashing through bay window into the darkness outside the dining room.

          Distracted by the noise, Tommy turned to see the werewolf and Kim disappear into the night beyond the window.  That one-second of distraction was all it took. The werewolf who'd slung its partner into him, closed quickly and in one swift motion, closed it jaws on Tommy's upper arm.  The former Zeo Ranger felt the shoulder dislocate as he was picked up by the werewolf and shaken like a rag doll.  Huge chunks of flesh pulled away, and as he fell to the floor he saw that the exposed bone was all that was left of his triceps.  With a sickening lurch of its head, the werewolf gulped down its prize.

          Jason twisted out of the incredibly strong grip of the woman he was fighting and charged the wolf who'd just bit Tommy.  A front kick to the midsection doubled over the werewolf.  A spinning back kick to the side of its head slammed it into the wall as Jase came to a stop where Tommy was trying to staunch the blood.  "Man Bro, that girl you were dancing with was a real dog."

          Tommy chuckled through the pain, gritted his teeth and mumbled, "Yeah, I just hope that she's had her shots."

          The female wolf on Tommy suddenly realized that it was no longer two on one, switched tactics and charged toward the exposed back of Billy who was trying to stay out of the way the flailing blind werewolf.  With a quick upward stroke of her claws she laid bare the former Blue Ranger's back.  Twisting with a sudden motion of her head, she darted in and bit down hard.  There was the sickening sound of bone breaking as the jaws closed on the blond.  With a toss of her head, the werewolf slammed Billy to the side, and into the mantel of the fireplace on the other side of the dining room. 

          As quickly as it had begun, the attack ended. The woman Jason had taken down called, "Enough!  We have what we came for!"  She grabbed the big wolf with the fork still sticking from its eye by the back of the neck and dragged it toward the shattered door.  "Dr. Hart is ours, and there is nothing he friends in Miami can do about it."

          Before any of the other Rangers could react, she was gone as a mist wrapped itself around her.  When it cleared the Rangers were left standing in the shattered remains of the house, and only the sounds of their own moans of pain filled the room.  A low groan escaped from Billy as he lay on the hearth, holding what was left of his shoulder.  Opening his eyes he looked around and said a single word, "Kim?"

          The dreadful realization that the former Pink Ranger was not in the room dawned on each of them.  Kim had been taken by the werewolves.  She was gone.


	8. Drunken Healers

          Rocky looked around the house in disbelief.  The dining and living rooms looked like a major battle had been fought in them- which there had- and the various rangers looked like they were in shock- which they were.  Jason was on the phone- talking to the friends in Miami that Kim had mentioned the other night.  "They've both lost a lot of blood." He shook his head as he continued to speak into the receiver, "They were both bitten too." He looked back over to where Kat and Adam were patching up Tommy and Billy as best they could, worry apparent in his eyes as they scanned his best friend and his lover.  He listened to the phone for a few minutes and then with a sense of relief in his voice, "How soon can you get here?  I really don't want to call the police in. There would be too many questions."

          Again there was a long pause as Rocky considered what the first Ranger Leader had said. He was a police officer, sworn to uphold the law, but didn't want to involve the law.  That idea took a lot of getting used to, but then again the Rangers had always been somewhat quasi-legal anyway.  Jason nodded again into the phone as if the person on the other end could see him as he said, "Great, I'll see you in a few."

          "Uh, Jase?" Kat asked. "I don't mean to sound hysterical or anything here, but don't you think we should get Tommy and Billy to the hospital soon?"

          Billy shook his head and forced himself to sit up. "No."  His expression made it clear that he was in pain, and Rocky knew just how much the original Blue Ranger hated to admit that he was hurting. "Not unless the idea of spending several hours explaining to Jason's police captain exactly what transpired here tonight, why it occurred, and the reason that five of us were able to fight off a room full of lycanthropes appeals to you."

          "Then what should we do?" Aisha asked. "Let the two of you bleed to death?"  Jason made to answer her but was interrupted by a knocking at the door.  

          All eyes turned to see two men, a woman and a boy enter.  One of the men towered over the other two- dressed in slacks and Hawaiian shirt that matched the blue in his eyes.  If it weren't for the medical bag he was carrying Rocky realized the guy looked a surfer.  The other was shorter but was built like a swimmer.  He was wearing green shorts and an ugly orange sweater that clashed horribly.  The woman had dark red hair and grass green eyes that seemed to take in everything in the room.  Finally, the boy looked no more than thirteen or fourteen with almost white blond hair and blue eyes.  He took one look at the room and raced over to where Billy and Tommy were being bandaged.

          "Hiya Runt," Billy said with a weak smile that surprised Rocky.  It wasn't like Billy to be familiar with strangers, especially children.  

          "What have you gone and done now wolf-breath?"  The boy gave Billy strange smile.  "Looks like you've really stuck your foot in it."

          Billy shrugged and the winced in pain at the effort.  "Actually some of your old friends stopped by to say hi."

          The boy shook his head, "Not my friends.  You know how I feel about wolves."

          "Even the Blue ones?" Billy asked.

          "Well, for Blue ones I make allowances."  The boy smiled and looked beneath the bandages.  "This looks pretty bad."

          "Then why don't you let your boyfriend take a look?" Billy said. "I think I'd rather have someone with an actual medical degree look at it, than someone with a merit badge in first aid."

          The boy stuck his tongue out at Billy and shrugged.  From across the room the surfer guys aid,  "If you say so.  But you know in the end, and under these circumstances, he's going to be the one who puts you back together.  I'm just a doctor, he's a healer."

          "If it's all the same David, I'd still rather you take a look first." Billy said.

          David smiled over at Billy, "You're the one who's in pain."  He looked over at the boy, "Noah, why don't you check out the other one first.  By that time, I should be ready to hand over our recalcitrant genius to you."

          The boy quickly scampered across Billy, around the worried form of Kat to the other side of Tommy.  He smiled down at the former Ranger Leader and said, "Hi, I'm Noah.  I'm a friend of Kim's."

          "The one from Miami?" Tommy asked incredulously.

          The boy nodded, "The same."

          Tommy looked back over at David and then to Noah, "Did Billy call him your boyfriend?"

          Noah smiled, "Uh huh."  He gave Tommy a hard look, "Is that a problem?"

          "You're a little young for him aren't you?" Tommy said.

          Noah shook his head like he'd heard it all before.  "I'm just a year younger than he is.  I'll be twenty-six next birthday.  My aging just slowed way down about the time I hit fourteen."  He glanced over at Kat and then down at the makeshift bandage.  Gently pulling the wrapping away, he looked at the wound.  "Looks like he got you good.  Most of the triceps is gone."

          Tommy nodded, "Guess my days in the dojo are over."

          The boy laughed, "Not at all."  Settling himself on the floor next to Tommy he grinned and reached out and gently probed the wound.  "The biggest problem you're going to have is that you're about to get very sick in a very short time.  If I don't do something about it soon though, it could get rough."

          "Why?" Tommy asked.

          The boy closed his eyes for a moment as if he was seeing something in his mind.  "Because the residual energy you're carrying from your days as a Ranger are starting to war with the disease that's entered your body."

          "What disease?" Kat asked suddenly worried.

          Noah glanced up at her and frowned, "Lycanthropy."

          "You mean he's going to turn into one of those things?" she asked.

          Noah shook his head.  "Not if I can help it. Too many werewolves in the world as it is if you ask me."

          "Then what do you propose to do about it?" Kat asked.

          "That depends, ma'am." He said.

          "Depends on what?" Jason asked from across the room where he was talking quietly with the other two.

          "How we want to go about this."  He stood and looked over at Jason. "Jase, there's some blocks in their minds that is holding back more than enough energy to heal them and make sure that they don't start baying at the next full moon."  

          "Blocks?" Jason asked.

          Noah nodded, "I'd say it has something to do with their spirit animals. Evidently, someone didn't want them to have access to those animals after they gave up Rangering."

          "So they'll be Rangers again?" Kat asked.

          Noah shook his head, "No ma'am. They'll just have access to their totem animals again. It's the same power that's locked up in Kim's mind.  I think it's safe to say that the 'Zords and everything are now safely ensconced somewhere in Blue Bay."

          Jason shook his head, "Different Rangers, different 'Zords.  Ours were destroyed."

          Suddenly it occurred to Rocky what the boy meant.  "They'd be Ninjetti Warriors again!"

          The boy shrugged, "If that's what you call it.  There's a great deal of power there.  More than enough to heal you."

          Jason looked between Tommy, and Billy. Both men nodded and he then out the shattered window where Kim had disappeared.  "Do it."

          Noah took a deep breath, "This might make you tired for a few minutes." He gently touched Tommy's wounded arm with one hand and his chest with the delicate fingertips of the other.  A white light seemed to spread out from Tommy's chest to engulf his whole body.  In a blinding instant the light faded revealing Tommy with his arm whole once again."

          Tommy smiled and flexed the arm carefully as if feeling it for the first time.  "Hey!  It's like new."

          The boy gave him a small smile, "You're not tired?"

          Tommy shook his head, "No. I feel like I could run a marathon."

          The boy shook his head and looked at the other man who was speaking to Jason.  "I heal you and we both crash for a night.  I heal him and he's ready to run a marathon."

          The other mans shrugged, "That's life piglet."

          "You're no help," he said scrambling over to Billy.

          "Wasn't trying to be."

          "Ready for me to deal with your boo boo yet?" Noah asked with a smile.

          "Do I have a choice?"

          "You always have a choice," Noah said.

          "No he doesn't," Jason said.  He looked directly at Billy and told the young genius,  "I am not going to share my bed with a werewolf.  Either Noah helps you or I buy you a collar and you move into the dog house with Kata."

          "In that case, I guess you'd better work your magic," Billy told him.

          "I told you before.  Nelson does magic, I'm a psi."

          "Right…," Billy said skeptically.  Rocky got the feeling that this was an old argument between the two of them.

          The boy looked down at Billy and then over to Jason and finally back to Billy. "You ready?  Because I'll tell you something, your husband scares me a whole lot more than you do right now."

          Billy just nodded and said grudgingly, "Do it."

          The gentle glow that had suffused Tommy began to surround Billy.  This time it was pale blue energy that seemed to flow out from Billy's chest.   But instead of stopping it seemed to grow brighter, and brighter until it engulfed the whole room.

          As the glow dissipated, Noah sat back on the floor hard, a strange detached smile on his face.  Billy on the other hand looked healed and unaffected.  "Noah?" David asked from across the room.  "Are you okay?"

          The young man grinned up at his lover gave him a detached smile. "I'm fine," he said with a giggle.  Standing he swayed against for a few seconds and then sat down hard again, giggling.  "I think I'm also a little drunk."

          "Huh?" the woman finally said something.  "What's wrong Noah?"  Rocky noticed a fierce protectiveness in her eyes as she looked back at Billy.  

          Noah giggled again and looked over at Billy.  "Do you always walk around with a supernova in your pocket?"  Looking back at the woman he smirked, "There's something inside him Sharon, some kind of enerjjjjeee soursssce." He began to slur his words as he leaned back against the wall. "Would someone please stop the room from spinning?"

          "Energy source?" the woman asked.

          "Negative protons!" Adam said. "The reason Bill couldn't take the Gold was because he'd absorbed all those negative protons!"

          It was the silent guy's turn to speak as he looked at Billy.  "You absorbed anti-matter?"

          Billy nodded sheepishly.  As he rotated his shoulder sheepishly, he said, "There was an accident.  A console was about to explode.  If it had, it would have killed the Rangers."

          "So Billy, without a Ranger healing factor, threw himself in front of it," Tommy replied.  Rocky knew that Tommy would sometimes still get upset about that stunt.  He himself remembered the fear in his heart when he saw Billy lying so still on the ground.  Rocky knew that he still hadn't stopped giving Billy a hard time about it.

          "You're lucky it didn't kill you," the man said.

          Billy just shrugged. "It didn't, so why worry about it."

          "Except now, it has reacted with Noah somehow," the girl named Sharon said.

          Every eye turned to the youth sitting with his head against the doorframe, his eyes closed and a goofy grin on his face.  The boy, no Rocky corrected himself- he was a man- simply laughed.  "There are all those little power nodules inside you, each one wrapped in a little blue wrapper.  Hmmm  mmmm good."

          The former Rangers looked at each other. "Little blue wrapper?" Kat asked.

          "The Blue Power?" Adam asked. "Could that hold that much energy in check?" 

          Tommy shrugged, "You remember what Dulcea said.  With the Great Power, all things are possible."

          "Uh guys," Rocky said.  "In case you haven't missed it, we're still short a member."

          "Rocky's right," Jason said.  "They took our wife, and I want her back."

          "You willing to go toe to toe with a bunch of werewolves again, Jason?" The guy in the sweater asked.  "I mean, Noah's out of the picture.  You guys get bitten again, and I don't think he's going to be in any condition to deal with it."

          "I'll do what I have to Brendan," Jason said heading toward the stairs.  Smiling, he looked over at Tommy, "Besides, I've still got a secret weapon."  He grinned back to the other guy, evidently named Brendan.  

~*~

          Lothar was not happy.  Actually he was pretty damn miserable.  His nose was stuffy, his body ached and his head felt like there were a dozen kalzaks in it pounding on anvils.  After all his travels, all his advanced space technology, he still hadn't found a cure for the common cold.  To make matters worse, none of the cold remedies he'd tried seemed to have an effect on him.  "Uncle?" Marah asked.  

          "What is it now?" Lothar replied irritably.  His nieces had thankfully been out of his hair for a while- until now.  

          The dark haired girl smiled, "I think I know where you might find someone to help you?"

          Lothar shook his head, "There isn't anyone in this wretched solar system who knows anything about my physiology."

          Marah smiled and half curtsied as she looked to her sister.  "Actually there is."

          "Huh?" Lothar looked up.

          "We just found out that there is a doctor in Angel Grove who specializes in treating what they call unnaturals."

          Lothar was wary of getting his hopes up when it came to his nieces' hair-brained ideas, but he was so miserable he was willing to listen to anything.  "What's his name?  Does he make housecalls?"

          "_Her_ name is Dr. Kimberly Hart," Kapri said.  The two girls looked at each other and giggled before she added, "And I'm sure we can convince her to make a house call."


End file.
